St Anthony Brief IRISH FRANCISCAN MISSION MAGAZINE No. 1 DEC/JAN 2021 €2.00 Blessed Is She Who Believed!

Friars Among the Jihadists ✣✣ Choosing Our Path With Integrity

God in the Time of Coronavirus

There is the way we were before The Plague; there is after the Plague There is where we are now somewhere

In between before and after A Purgatory of pain and fear And the uncertainty of life

Questioning as we have known Our lives our world our universe Wondering will God still be there

Where we believed God was although Life and Spirit We never saw God but only Believed those who told us they had

Wondering how God is here now That all God’s houses are closed up All ceremony suspended

With only our hope, faith and others’ Love to sustain and protect us We see God as we always did

In love, the face of who God is And the sense from time to time of A face closer than those we see

– Murray Bodo, OFM

St Anthony Brief SStt AAnthonynthony BriefBrief

Spirit and Life.

2 Editorial.

4 Blessed Is She Who Believed! Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap offers 5 Our Lady as our guide on the Advent path to Christmas.

Bearers of Joyful Hope to the Hopeless. Walter Gallahue OFM reflects on the loss of hope that many can experience and the desperate need 8 for those who witness to hope and joy.

Friars Among the Jihadists. Firas Lutfi OFM tells of two friars who still live and serve among the people in an Islamic caliphate in Syria. 10 ‘The Bible is All That I Have.’ Seyed Mohammad Mahdi, a Christian convert from Iran, tells what his journey has cost him and the joy it has 11 brought him.

12 Church Brief. A Splendid Secret: We Are a Single Human Family. Francis ponders the truth that all of us, everyone on this beautiful planet, are brothers and 14 sisters. And once again he takes St Francis as his inspiration.

Seeing Goodness: Developing a Benevolent Gaze. Gerald Evans OFM reminds us that we look on the world from our own interior world. We see 16 things as we are rather than as they are.

Learning to Dance the Divine: An Advent Reflection. Sr Joan Chittister 18 OSB ponders the deeper meaning of the beautiful season of Advent.

Choosing Our Path With Integrity. Adrian Peelo OFM shows how St 20 Francis models for us inner freedom and taking responsibility for our choices.

22 News from Around the Franciscan World. A Prayer as I Put on My Mask. 23 Many Nations, One Purpose.

Jesus: Man of Prayer and Teacher of Prayer. Tom Russell OFM shows 24 how Jesus’ intimacy in prayer with the Father was the heart of his life and Volume 81 No.1 mission. Magazine of the Irish Franciscans. Published bi-monthly by John Bradburne: . the Franciscan Missionary Union, 25 4 Merchants Quay, Dublin 8. Will there be Christmas? Production: Fr Francis Cotter OFM. 26 Subscription & Distribution Secretary: Helen Doran. Tel: (01) 6777651. Building a More Human World. Gearóid Ó Conaire OFM shares uplifting examples of men and women religious inspired by the Spirit to work for [email protected] 27 Design, Layout & Printing: the Kingdom of God in the midst of the world. Corcoran Print & Design. Tel: (053) 9234760. Coronavirus, Passion and Ministry. As a Franciscan priest, Paddy Subscription including Postage: 29 Noonan OFM reflects on the pastoral implications of the ongoing pandemic. Ireland – €15.00 per annum Britain – Stg£15.00 per annum Overseas – €18.00 per annum 30 Mission Digest. 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines. Dec/Jan 2021 3 Presence not Presents This year Christmas will be different. Many of the familiar rituals and gatherings will not take place. Whatever gatherings do take place, will still be under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of you, dear readers, will be approaching Christmas 2020 carrying a personal sadness, having perhaps suffered the loss of a loved one this past year, or some financial, family, or health troubles. I think many people would happily exchange the usual round of parties, spending, and consuming for the chance to simply gather and spend time with family. It is Liam Kelly OFM absence from family and friends that will make this Christmas lonelier and harder. This year it’s not presents, but presence, that will be missed. For Christians, the sea- son of Christmas is all about presence; the presence of the Christ child among us, in poverty, in simplicity and, most of all, in love. Christ is called Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God is with us’. The mystery of the Incarnation doesn’t magically change our circumstances, but it changes us, through faith, opening us to new possibilities and to ‘a future full of hope’ (, 29:11). As the late Cardinal Avery Dulles once wrote, ‘The Incarnation does not provide us with a ladder by which to escape from the ambigu- ities of life and scale the heights of heaven. Rather, it enables us to burrow deep into the heart of our humanity and find it shimmering with divinity.’ The presence of Christ in the world has changed us, from within. Once we know and believe that he has come, we begin to live in hope. This hope doesn’t depend on our moods, on the weather, on stock markets, on anything temporal and passing. Our hope is grounded in the wonderful truth that God is with us, present among us. Covid times: separated from family. Indeed, Jesus does not come into the world to help us to escape its ambiguities, rather, Jesus heals the blindness that obscures the inherent beauty of all creation. We learn to see creation with new eyes; we are ourselves a ‘new creation’. How will we spend this Christmas 2020? Will it be completely overshadowed? Or will we experience in a unique way that God is with us? An early biography of St Francis mentions that at Christmas, St Francis wanted the poor and hungry to be fed by the rich, and even the oxen and asses to be spoiled with extra feed and hay. Francis said, ‘If ever I speak with the Emperor, I will beg him to issue a general decree that all who can should throw wheat and grain along the roads, so that on the day of such a great solemnity the birds may have an abundance, especially our sisters the larks.’ Emmanuel, God’s loving presence, is what we celebrate this Christmas. May we all find ways to share generously, like St Francis, the joy and hope this Presence brings. – Liam Kelly OFM

St Anthony Brief 4 Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap offers Our Lady as our guide on the Advent path to Christmas. This Capuchin friar, who has been the Preacher to the Papal Household for the past forty years, was created a cardinal by on 28 November this year. Blessed Is She Who Believed! very year the liturgy leads us to praised her for her faith saying, ‘Blessed Church Fathers, Origen, said that it’s as Christmas with three guides: is she who believed there would be a ful- if Mary was saying to God, ‘Behold, I am E , and filment of what was spoken to her from a tablet to be written on; let the Writer MaryE – the prophet, the precursor, and the Lord’ (Luke 1:45). The wonderful write whatever he wills, let the Lord of all the mother. The first announced the thing that took place in Nazareth after things do with me as he wishes.’ He Messiah from afar, the second showed the angel’s greeting was that Mary compared Mary to the wax writing tablet him present in the world, the third bore ‘believed’, and thus she became the used in his day. Nowadays, we might say him in her womb. This Advent let us ‘mother of the Lord’. There is no doubt that Mary offered herself to God as a entrust ourselves entirely to the Mother that the word ‘believed’ refers to Mary’s blank page on which he could write of Jesus. No one better than she can answer to the angel, ‘Behold, I am the whatever he wanted. prepare us to celebrate the birth of our handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me St Paul said that ‘God loves a cheer- Redeemer. Our Lady didn’t celebrate according to your word’ (Luke 1:38). ful giver’, and Mary uttered her yes Advent, she lived it in her flesh. Like In these few simple words, the great- cheerfully. The Greek word used in the every mother bearing a child she knows est and most decisive act of faith in his- to express Mary’s consent is what it means to be waiting for some- tory took place. Mary’s answer repre- genoito. It is translated by the Latin word body and can help us in approaching sents the summit of all religious fiat or in English by ‘let it be done’. But Christmas with an expectant faith. behaviour before God, because it that word does not just express a simple expresses, to the highest degree, both a resigned acceptance but a living desire. Handmaid of the Lord passive willingness and active readiness, It’s as if she was saying, I, too, desire When Mary went to visit Elizabeth, she the deepest void that accompanies the with all my being what God desires; let welcomed Mary with great joy and greatest fullness. One of the early his wish be fulfilled quickly.

Dec/Jan 2021 5 From Elizabeth’s words, ‘Blessed is of Mary’s faith at that moment. exacted if the signs of virginity she who believed,’ we note that early in First of all, God never deceives and were not found in a young woman at the Gospel Mary’s divine maternity is not never sneakily extorts consent from his marriage: she would be brought to the just considered in the physical sense children by concealing the consequences door of her father’s house and be stoned but, much more so, in a spiritual sense, from them of what they are taking on. to death by the men of her city. rooted in faith. This is what St Augustine We can see this in every great calling on Nowadays, we are quick to talk about based himself on when he said, ‘The God’s part. He forewarned Jeremiah, the risk of faith, and we generally mean Mary gave birth believing what she ‘They will fight against you’ (Jeremiah the intellectual risk, but Mary faced a real had conceived believing. When the angel 1:1), and to Ananias he said of Saul, ‘I risk! In his book on Our Lady, Blessed had spoken, she, full of faith (fide plena), will show him how much he must suffer Are You Who Believed, Carlo Carretto conceiving Christ in her heart before she for the sake of my name’ (Acts 9:16). told us how he came to understand did so in her womb, answered, Behold, I Would he have acted differently only with Mary’s faith. When he was living as a am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to Mary for a mission such as hers? In the hermit in the Sahara Desert, he had me according to your word.’ light of the Holy Spirit that accompanied heard from some Tuareg friends of his The fullness of faith on Mary’s part God’s call, she certainly sensed that her that a young girl in the encampment had corresponds to the fullness of grace on path would be no different from that of all been betrothed to a young man but she God’s part, the fide plena to the gratia other chosen ones. In fact, soon had not gone to live with him as she was plena. put this foreboding into words when he too young. Carretto had associated this told her that a spear would pierce her fact with what Luke said of Mary. So, two Alone With God soul. years later, finding himself in the same At a first glance, Mary’s act of faith was But even on a simply human level, encampment, he asked about the girl. He easy and could even be taken for Mary found herself in complete solitude. noticed a certain embarrassment among granted. She was to become the mother To whom could she explain what had his interlocutors, and later one of them, of a king who would reign forever in the taken place in her? Who would believe secretly approaching him, made a sign to house of , mother of the Messiah! her when she said that the child she was him. He held his hand to his throat in the Wasn’t this the dream of every Hebrew carrying in her womb was the work of the characteristic gesture that indicated that girl? But this is a rather human and Holy Spirit? This was something that had her throat had been slit. It had been dis- worldly way of reasoning. True faith is never taken place before and would covered that she was with child before never a privilege or an honour; it means never take place again. Undoubtedly, the marriage, and her death was neces- dying a little, and this was especially true Mary was well aware of what the Law of sary for the honour of the family.

The handmaid of the Lord: ‘Let it be to me according to your word.’

St Anthony Brief 6 Mother: Mary bathes the baby Jesus.

Carretto writes that it was then that than on what is believed. But Mary’s faith The first words of the Creed, ‘I believe he thought of Mary again, of the pitiless was also very objective. She didn’t in God the Father Almighty’, contain glances of the people of Nazareth, of the believe in a subjective, personal God, incredible power. My small ‘I’ united and knowing winks, and he understood detached from everything, who revealed joined to the great ‘I’ of the whole mysti- Mary’s solitude. And that same night he himself only to her in secret. She cal Body of Christ, past and present, chose her as his traveling companion believed, instead, in the God of her makes a sound more powerful than the and the mistress of his faith. ancestors, the God of her people. She roaring of the sea and makes the very saw in the God who revealed himself to foundations of the reign of darkness Faith, Basis of Everything her the God of the promises, the God of tremble. Mary’s life talks to us of the importance and his descendants. She of faith. There can be no sound or music humbly felt part of the host of believers Let Us, Too, Believe! if there is no ear to hear it, no matter and became the first believer of the new The contemplation of Mary’s faith urges how many melodies or sublime chords fill covenant, just as Abraham was the first us to renew our personal act of faith and the air. There is no grace, or at least believer of the old covenant. abandonment to God. That is why it is so grace cannot work, if there is no faith to For us too, it is necessary, therefore, vitally important to say to God – let it be accept it. Just as the rain cannot germi- to have both dimensions of faith: to done, fiat, as Mary did. After praying, so nate anything unless it falls on soil that believe personally, but in communion that our prayer does not remain superfi- absorbs it, so it is with grace if it doesn’t with the Church, and also to believe in cial, say to God, using the very words fall upon faith. It is through faith that we communion with the Church, but person- Mary used: Here I am, I am the servant of are sensitive to grace. Faith is the basis ally. The dogmatic faith of the Church the Lord: let it be to me according to your for everything; it is the first and the best doesn’t take from personal faith or from word! I am saying amen, yes, my God, to among the good works. This is the work the spontaneity in believing, rather, it your whole plan. I give you myself! of God, that you believe, Jesus said. preserves it and allows us to know and We must, however, remember that Faith is so important because it alone embrace an immensely greater God than Mary pronounced her fiat willingly and maintains the sheer giftedness of God’s the God of our own limited experience. joyfully. How often do we repeat the word grace. That’s why it is so dear to God, The faith of the Church is like a great with poorly hidden resignation and, tight who makes almost everything depend on wide-angle lens, which, in a particular lipped, murmur, ‘If it cannot be avoided, faith in his relations with us. Grace and panorama, makes it possible to see and well then, let your will be done!’ Mary faith: this is how the two pillars of salva- photograph a much wider view than that teaches us to say it in a different way. tion are placed. We are given these two of the simple lens. In uniting myself to Knowing that God’s will is infinitely more feet to walk on or two wings to fly with. the faith of the Church, I make the faith beautiful and richer in promises than any Mary’s act of faith was very personal, of all those who have gone before me of our own plans, and knowing that God unique, and can never be repeated. It mine: that of the apostles, the martyrs, is infinite love and nourishes plans for was trust in God and the total entrusting and all the of the Church. The our good not evil, let us say, full of desire of herself to God. It was a person-to-per- saints no longer need their faith in and almost impatiently, as Mary did: Let son relation. This is called subjective heaven and they have left it as an your will of love and peace be fulfilled in faith. The emphasis is on believing rather inheritance to the whole Church. me, O God! n

Dec/Jan 2021 7 Bearers of Joyful Hope to the Hopeless Walter Gallahue OFM reflects on the loss of hope that many can experience and the desperate need for those who witness to hope and joy.

ome years ago, Fr Kevin Hegarty All of these young men would have come had discovered a treasure more life-giving wrote an article in The Furrow from a Catholic background. Why was than any earthly treasure. Sentitled ‘Suicide in Ireland’. He there such a terrible loss of hope in these In Zimbabwe, the people have a say- said that ‘feelings of having no value can young men? Is there so little to look for- ing, Kupfuma iShungu. It means, if you sometimes lead to despair and despair is ward to that it is better to die? Why was want to become rich you must want it so the main ingredient in the sulphurous their vision of what life has to offer so badly that you will make any sacrifice cocktail that leads to suicide. The young clouded and dark? necessary to attain your goal. I remember followers of Bin Laden and the Palestinian a place where there was only one shop. It suicide bombers believe so much in their A Different Vision was on the rural bus route. The ultimate destiny that they go willingly to Someone well known to readers of St Chiwasarira bus would arrive there at their deaths. In the Western world too, Anthony Brief offers us a different, life-giv- 4.30am. The shop owner would be up many young men believe so little in any- ing vision of life. Francis Bernardone dis- and have his shop open in the hope that thing that they think it better to die.’ covered his reason for living in Christ and some passengers would want to buy a On Easter Sunday 2019, the horren- the Gospel. In Francis’ case, it was the soft drink and a loaf of bread. dous bombing of Catholic churches and experience of a loving God – experienced This is the same level of commitment hotels in Sri Lanka killed hundreds of in Jesus Christ – that made him see every that made Francis a light to the people of innocent worshippers and holidaymak- other thing as worthless if Christ is not the his time and to the many thousands of ers. These atrocities were carried out by centre of his joy and hope. It was the men and women who came to follow his nine suicide bombers. These seem to Good News of God’s immeasurable love example. Jesus was his treasure hidden have been young adults, materially well for the human race that made him see in the field for which a person would hap- off. They were also quite well educated. everything that got in the way of loving pily sell everything to get that field. They were willing to lose everything, and following Christ as a distraction. Francis could never ponder, without including their young lives, to implement Francis saw Christ as the only source of tears, the love of Jesus who gave his life their hateful world vision. We have seen true life and happiness. that we might live. Jesus’ self-giving was the same terrible commitment in so St Paul would say, ‘For me to live is to bring life and not death. Francis wit- many countries over the past ten to fif- Christ.’ When Bernard of Quintavalle, nessed to the fact that only in loving teen years. another young man from Assisi, saw how Christ can a person become truly fulfilled. And some years ago, during one Francis had been transformed by his love He also realised that the light of Christ month, seven young men committed sui- for Christ, he wanted something of that emanating from him was also a form of cide in the parish of Portlaoise in Ireland. joy and happiness. He saw that Francis loving others and an invitation to find life

St Anthony Brief 8 to the full. He wanted to die for Christ, but During that night he was called to the and peace into the world and defeats the he was called, like most of us, to live for hospital. The Sisters said that the violent power of darkness. Every Christian can him. man was very ill and was asking for do this and must. St Pope Paul VI wrote a powerful let- Baptism. He went and asked the man Feeding Jesus in the hungry and ter called ‘Proclaiming the Gospel’. He why he was asking for Baptism. The man clothing him in the naked is essential. But says that in today’s world only Christians said that he had never experienced love it is even more necessary to be a life- whose lives witness to the love of Christ in his life, only rejection. He said he hated giver through prayer and love. will be believed. The joy and excitement everyone, and everyone hated him. He As St Paul says, ‘The weapons that of being a follower must be seen to be said he could not recall one happy day in we use in our fight against the powers of believed. his life. darkness are not the world’s weapons Christians must walk the talk. Since he had come into this care but God’s powerful weapons.’ This is

home, he had observed the Sisters, who available to everyone. Only on the Last The Secret always seemed to be happy. He said he Day will we see fully the fruits of such What is the secret of this happiness? It is, couldn’t understand why since all they persevering prayer. This is loving Christ as Jesus showed us, to be people for oth- ever got from him was abuse. He had in his sisters and brothers in the most ers. It is to live so that others may have life. Francis saw Christ as ‘Love made visible’. Christ Witness: joy is a became, for Francis, his sure sign of hope. reason for living and his inspiration. In his turn, Francis became an inspira- tion for others. When Peter, on his way to the temple, cured the crippled man he said that it is only in Christ that anyone can find true life. Jesus prayed a lot. Do we know what he prayed for? We do because he told us. He prayed that his Father’s Kingdom be established on earth; a Kingdom of Life, Love and Truth. He was totally committed to bringing this about and gave his life for it. Christians are his partners in this venture. It is God’s plan for a transformed world where love is the driving force. A life of loving faith has huge consequences for others. It is a liv- scolded them, complained and cursed powerful way. This is what the Poor ing word which witnesses to the source of them, and even when he fouled the bed, Clares stand for. true happiness. they were always kind and understanding. Our prayer is the most powerful and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York ‘Why should you care about me,’ he said. necessary weapon in our fight against shares an experience of the power of lov- All they used to reply was ‘Jesus’. hatred and despair. This is the most ing witness, one that gives hope to the He said to Fr Dolan, ‘I have never had important aspect in keeping the words of hopeless. Among his pastoral duties, a happy day in my life and want to experi- Jesus: ‘Love one another,’ ‘Watch and when he was a parish priest, was as ence it before I die. If Jesus is the one pray,’ and ‘This type of evil spirit can only chaplain to a care home in New York run who gives this happiness, then I want a be driven out by prayer.’ by ’s of bit of it.’ Many of the readers of St Anthony Charity. The home ministered to AIDS He was baptised and died on Holy Brief are people in their later years. Love sufferers. On Good Friday, it was custom- Saturday. has no age. It is wonderful to see an ary to take the Cross to the wards so that elderly person full of joy and hope. those who wished could reverence it. Two Happiest Missionaries Perhaps younger people will want to know of the Sisters said that they would accom- The most effective and happiest mission- the source of this joy and hope. All of us pany him because there was one patient aries I have observed in Zimbabwe in can and must be instruments of hope. who was very violent and might even more than 50 years, were all women and Many are depending on us. Jesus wants attack the priest. However, they did the men of prayer. This is no coincidence. witnesses. He says, ‘You are the light of rounds of the wards safely. The light of prayer sends ripples of hope the world – let your light shine.’ n

Dec/Jan 2021 9 Friars Among the Jihadists

Firas Lutfi OFM tells of two friars who still live and serve among the people in an Islamic caliphate in Syria.

he villages of Knayeh and These extremists have often perse- The presence of the Franciscans is a Yacoubieh, in Idlib province, close cuted, attacked, beaten, tortured and even sign of hope in the midst of the darkness Tto the Turkish border in western murdered some of our brothers and sis- and despair. But they also depend heavily Syria, still find themselves under the con- ters, as for example in the notorious case on whatever outside support they can trol of jihadist groups. Here the fearsome of Fr François Murad, who was beheaded obtain, especially financial support since Islamic caliphate still holds sway; the in 2013. More recently a Christian female the local people can no longer harvest Sharia is the law, all women are forced to schoolteacher was raped and then mur- their own crops, which have been confis- wear veils, Christian properties have been dered in Yacoubieh. cated, or sell their own produce – and so confiscated and Christian symbols such as The friars are there to help everyone they are in constant need of outside crosses torn down. in need of support and guidance, regard- humanitarian aid. Among the local inhabitants who have less of their religion, race, nationality, or Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is remained in their homes despite the terri- political opinions. On many occasions our currently supporting over 50 different pro- ble situation, there are an estimated 300 monasteries in Knayeh and Yacoubieh jects to assist Christians in Syria and the Christian families of different denomina- welcomed and gave shelter to dozens of support is deeply appreciated. tions and ethnic groups. Two Franciscan Muslim families. They were seeking refuge friars, Luai Bsharat, aged 40, and 67-year- in the churches when the region became Adapted from old Hanna Jallouf, have also stayed on a battleground and a place of conflict. www.acninternational.org n here to minister to them. The Christians remaining in these areas are facing persecution, fear, vio- Presence: lence and danger, and even death. So, Firas Lutfi OFM the continuing presence of the Christians with children in in these villages, and of the two Aleppo, Syria. Franciscan friars, says much about their heroic commitment. In spite of the difficulties, Fr Luai and Fr Hanna have stayed on there because they believe that this region should not be abandoned. For it is close to Antioch, where St Paul began his travels, spread- ing the Word of God. The sufferings of these Christians began a decade ago. When the militant groups took control of the region and pro- claimed the Islamic State, they confiscated Christian properties, imposed Islamic Sharia law on all non-Muslims, and sup- pressed their right to move around freely within their own villages.

St Anthony Brief 10 Seyed Mohammad Mahdi, a Christian convert from Iran, tells what his journey Baptism: has cost him and ‘It was as though the joy it has God had given me a new soul and a brought him. new body.’

am from Iran, a country in which reli- gious freedom does not exist and I where possession of a Bible can mean ‘The Bible is aI death sentence. I was forced to leave Iran and am now living as a refugee in . I am Iranian born, and I’m thirty-eight All That I Have’ years old. My life in my country was quite wear a cross around their neck either or helped me to never lose faith, and now I normal; I had work, a home, I was happy carry the Bible. am not afraid of anything. living with my family and especially my I am happy because I am free to speak I was baptised by Bishop Fidel of daughter. I miss them greatly; two days of Jesus, free to believe, and to think. Burgos. When he poured the water over ago was my daughter’s birthday, so I have Some people say that faith is an illusion, my head, I changed completely, I felt the to send her a great big kiss from here. but it is not true; I always feel the close- sense of pardon of all my sins. I always Having to leave all that behind ness of God. When I arrived in Spain, it used to think I would be able to change because of my desire to become a was the first time in my life that I had seen the bad things I had done, but I never suc- Christian was very hard, but that was my a church. I went in and I sensed something ceeded in doing so. decision. It was hard because I wanted to very special. I went there to give thanks to When I was baptised, it was as though become a Christian, but this is a long and God for having preserved my life because God had given me a new soul and a new hard journey. In my country, Muslims are it was an extremely difficult journey. body, that’s how it felt. forbidden to change religion. What is helping me on my path of Now I cannot stop thinking about God. And so I had to leave my country. I faith? Jesus, Mary, and this book, the When I wake, when I go to bed, when I am don’t know how long I went without eating, Bible. When I left my country, I didn’t know walking, I am conscious that God has without water, walking across mountains, what I was going to have to face, and done all things well and that the world is rivers, every night fearful of the police and there were many times when I told myself I wonderful. of the people. could go no further. But Jesus Christ Adapted from zenit.org n But thanks be to God, I am safe and sound now; I am with Jesus, in a free country where I can live my faith in free- dom. And during this journey, nothing could separate me from that something which I am still holding now in my hands, a Bible in Farsi, the language of Iran. It’s all that I have now. I carry this book with me everywhere, because all its words have a destiny and a goal for me. It has always helped me; it contains powerful Seyed in Spain: words for me. I also wear a rosary around my neck. ‘I always feel the It goes everywhere with me and I pray closeness of God.’ with it regularly. It is a very special gift that was given me by a priest, a great friend of mine, my parish priest in the parish of Cosmas in Burgos, here in Spain. That is something that is forbidden in my country. And Christians there cannot

Dec/Jan 2021 11 Church Brief that he could take the Blessed Sacrament to the most deprived individuals. ‘I’m not afraid of anything, I take the Master with me,’ said Joan to the Roses family that he visited on the day of his death, 11 September 1936. A few hours later, anti- clerical militiamen knocked on the door of his home. As he left, he said to his mother, ‘God is with me.’ The patrol took him to the local ceme- tery where he spoke his last words, ‘May God forgive you as I forgive you.’ He died Seoul: A church from five bullets to his chest. He was 19 living with Covid. years old.

South Korea: . Joan Roig i Diggle was born in Anti-Covid Confessionals Barcelona in 1917. As a student, he The Catholic cathedral in Seoul guaran- worked as an office employee in a fabric tees the faithful access to the sacrament store, then in a factory in Barcelona. of confession even during the Covid-19 Despite the many commitments of pandemic. For this purpose, the Catholic work and study and poor health, he main- cathedral of Seoul has adapted and tained an intense spiritual life: daily partici- equipped confessionals to allow the cele- pation at , meditation and prayer, bration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the growing understanding of the in maximum safety. social doctrine of the Church. In the new arrangement, the space for During the , on 20 the priest and that for the penitent in the July 1936, red militiamen burned the confessional are now completely sepa- headquarters of the Federation of Young rated, while a special ventilation system Christians of , of which he was a Bishop Raymond Mupandasekwa member. The churches of Barcelona were has been installed to prevent the virus from being transmitted via the respiratory closed. A persecution began during which Zimbabwe: the young man visited the wounded and tract. Plexiglass protection was installed in Government Criticised prayed for the dead in hospitals. each confessional as a physical barrier ‘They bring bloodshed; they kill. Instead of Fr Lluma, Joan’s spiritual director, between the priest and the penitent. freedom, they bring prison. They bring vio- entrusted the reserved to him so Finally, after the celebration of the sacra- lence and imprison all those who oppose ment, the entire confessional is sanitised them. The only thing they know is vio- before the next penitent has access to lence.’ This is the harsh attack launched confession. by the Bishop of Chinhoyi, Raymond Fr Matthias Young-yup Hur said, ‘Our Mupandasekwa, on the government of religious community has had to face very Zimbabwe. difficult times, given the ongoing pan- The bishop in particular criticised the demic. The reopening of fully equipped recent decree that enlisted newly gradu- confessionals is part of our efforts to pro- ated doctors into the army. Newly gradu- vide pastoral assistance to the faithful. To ated doctors must be recruited as military transform the crisis into an opportunity, we doctors, otherwise they will not be able to hope there will be other effective initiatives work in state hospitals. According to the in the field of pastoral ministry also in the trade unions, this is a measure that aims post-Covid era.’ to prevent strikes by medical personnel at Spain: an extremely critical moment for public Young Man Beatified health and for the government, accused On 6 November 2020 a young lay martyr of failing to manage the pandemic emer- was beatified during a celebration in Martyr: Joan Roig i Diggle. gency. n

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Phone No: ...... Email (optional): ...... Please make cheque payable to: Franciscan Missionary Union and send to: Franciscan Missionary Union, 4 Merchants Quay, Dublin 8, D08 XY19, Ireland. In his latest Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis ponders the truth that all of us, everyone on this beautiful planet, are brothers and sisters. And once again he takes St Francis as his inspiration. A Splendid Secret: We Are a Single Human Family ratelli Tutti’ – with these words, abandoned, the infirm and the outcast, disputes, but to be subject to every human St addressed the least of his brothers and sisters. creature for God’s sake.’ ‘Fhis brothers and sisters and In the context of the times, this was an proposed‘F to them a way of life marked by Without Borders extraordinary recommendation. the flavour of the Gospel. Of the counsels There is an episode in the life of St Francis We are impressed that some 800 years Francis offered, I would like to select the that shows his openness of heart, which ago St Francis urged that all forms of hostil- one in which he calls for a love that tran- knew no bounds and transcended differ- ity or conflict be avoided, and that a humble scends the barriers of geography and dis- ences of origin, nationality, colour or reli- and fraternal ‘subjection’ be shown to those tance, and declares blessed all those who gion. It was his visit to Sultan Malik-el- who did not share his faith. love their brother ‘as much when he is far Kamil, in Egypt, which entailed consider- Francis did not wage a war of words away from him as when he is with him’. able hardship, given Francis’ poverty, his aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply In his simple and direct way, St scarce resources, the great distances to spread the love of God. He understood that Francis expressed the essence of a be travelled and their differences of lan- ‘God is love and those who abide in love fraternal openness that allows us to guage, culture and religion. That journey, abide in God’ (1 John 4:16). In this way, he acknowledge, appreciate and love each undertaken at the time of the Crusades, became a brother to all and inspired the person, regardless of physical proximity, further demonstrated the breadth and vision of a fraternal society. Indeed, only the regardless of where he or she was born grandeur of his love, which sought to person who approaches others, not to draw or lives. embrace everyone. Francis’ fidelity to his them into his own life, but to help them This saint of fraternal love, simplicity Lord was commensurate with his love for become ever more fully themselves, can and joy, who inspired me to write the his brothers and sisters. truly be called a brother. Encyclical Laudato si’, prompts me once Unconcerned for the hardships and In the world of that time, bristling with more to devote this new Encyclical to fra- dangers involved, Francis went to meet the watchtowers and defensive walls, cities ternity and social friendship. Francis felt Sultan with the same attitude that he were a theatre of brutal wars between pow- himself a brother to the sun, the sea and instilled in his disciples. He told the friars erful families, even as poverty was spread- the wind, yet he knew that he was even that if they found themselves ‘among the ing through the countryside. Yet there closer to those of his own flesh. Saracens and other nonbelievers’, without Francis was able to welcome true peace Wherever he went, he sowed seeds of renouncing their own identity as Christians, into his heart and free himself of the desire peace and walked alongside the poor, the they were not to ‘engage in arguments or to wield power over others. He became one

St Anthony Brief 14 of the poor and sought to live in harmony ent ways that various countries responded be ignored, I would like in the following with all. to the crisis, their inability to work together pages to take up and discuss many new Francis has inspired these pages. became quite evident. For all our hyper- paths of hope. For God continues to sow connectivity, we witnessed a fragmentation abundant seeds of goodness in our human Human Fraternity that made it more difficult to resolve prob- family. Issues of human fraternity and social friend- lems that affect us all. The recent pandemic enabled us to ship have always been a concern of mine. Anyone who thinks that the only lesson recognise and appreciate once more all In recent years, I have spoken of them to be learned was the need to improve those around us who, in the midst of fear, repeatedly and in different settings. In this what we were already doing, or to refine responded by putting their lives on the line. Encyclical, I have sought to bring together existing systems and regulations, is deny- We began to realise that our lives are inter- many of those statements and to situate ing reality. woven with and sustained by ordinary peo- them in a broader context of reflection. It is my desire that, in this our time, by ple valiantly shaping the decisive events of I have felt particularly encouraged by acknowledging the dignity of each human our shared history: doctors, nurses, phar- the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, with person, we can contribute to the rebirth of macists, storekeepers and supermarket whom I met in Abu Dhabi, where we a universal aspiration to fraternity. workers, cleaning personnel, caretakers, declared that ‘God has created all human Here we have a splendid secret that transport workers, men and women working beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, shows us how to dream and to turn our life to provide essential services and public and has called them to live together as into a wonderful adventure. No one can safety, volunteers, priests and religious. brothers and sisters.’ This was no mere face life in isolation. We need a community They understood that no one is saved diplomatic gesture, but a reflection born of that supports and helps us, in which we alone. dialogue and common commitment. The can help one another to keep looking I invite everyone to renewed hope, for present Encyclical takes up and develops ahead. How important it is to dream hope speaks to us of something deeply some of the great themes raised in the together. By ourselves, we risk seeing rooted in every human heart, independently Document on Human Fraternity that we mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, of our circumstances and historical condi- both signed. on the other hand, are built together. tioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an Although I have written it from the Let us dream, then, as a single human aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfilment, a Christian convictions that inspire and sus- family, as fellow travellers sharing the desire to achieve great things, things that fill tain me, I have sought to make this reflec- same flesh, as children of the same earth our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities tion an invitation to dialogue among all which is our common home, each of us like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and people of good will. bringing the richness of his or her beliefs love. and convictions, each of us with his or her Let us continue, then, to advance along We Need Community own voice, brothers and sisters all. the paths of hope. As I was writing this letter, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly erupted, exposing Seeds of Goodness For the full Encyclical, see our false securities. Aside from the differ- Despite the dark clouds, which may not www.vatican.va n

Fellow travellers: no one can face life in isolation.

Dec/Jan 2021 15 Gerald Evans OFM reminds us that we look on the world from our own interior world. We see things as we are rather than as they are.

Seeing Goodness: Developing a Benevolent Gaze

n a recent article I read this sentence wind, and in all creation. These are exam- through the eyes of their Creator who at the that caught my attention, ‘Francis and ples which reveal the Celtic soul as mys- dawn of creation saw that ‘all was good.’ Clare are perhaps the most eastern of tic and contemplative. Their gaze did not categorise, did not IourI western saints.’ They are akin to our criticise, did not judge. It did not come from Orthodox sisters and brothers of the A Benevolent Gaze the ego but from the image of God within Christian East for whom ‘seeing’ is a liturgi- In their contemplative endeavour, Francis them. cal act, that is to say, contemplating all and Clare sought to place each one of their Francis and Clare learned to look at things with ‘the eyes of the heart’. The senses and faculties, both human and spir- their own lives, other human beings, espe- Christian West is more cerebral, more prag- itual, at the service of their contemplative cially the poor, events, creation and history matic; it tries to ‘understand’ God, over and life. They prayed with their eyes, their ears, with the eyes of Jesus Christ. Their con- above contemplating and experiencing him. their nose, their hands, their mouth, their templative prayer was never a flight from Within our Christian and especially heart, and their intelligence. They contem- the world, rather it was a new way of look- Catholic heritage, however, we can find plated and experienced the glory and espe- ing deeper into it in the present moment, to ample examples of saints who sought not cially the humility of God in the child of the active presence and the hand of God only to understand God, but also to con- Bethlehem, the gestures of tenderness of working in and through everyone and template and experience him in their con- Jesus at the Eucharist banquet, at the everything. crete lives. St in his master- washing of the feet, and at the Cross of Right to the end of his life, Francis work, The Journey of the Mind into God, Calvary. never separated the mountain retreat for states that the human person was actually Everything that is human: a birth, a prayer from the marketplace of daily life. created and structured in such a way as meal, an encounter, a poor person, an old Both were privileged places where he con- to contemplate and co-operate with the man, suffering, death – everything templated the presence of God in every- active, creative presence of God in all becomes a revelation of the hidden face of one and everything. creation. God for those who see with the eyes and Thus, Franciscan spirituality is abso- hear with the ears of the spirit. A Pure Heart lutely incarnational as was and indeed is Both Francis and Clare saw the face of Looking out on the world from that pure our own Celtic spirituality. For example, Christ disfigured and transfigured at the interior gaze afforded Francis and his Autumn for the Celts was a time of the same time, in every human being. For brothers the gift of regarding the whole thinning of the veil between the visible them, even the most deformed faces rav- world as their ‘cloister’, where they could and invisible world. Some of us, who are aged by disease or sin hid within them his contemplate the presence of God. Irish, can think back to our schoolday- sacred face. By cultivating this benevolent The origin of that pure gaze in Francis reading from the writings of Peig Sayers. gaze, it allowed them to be more attentive and Clare stemmed from and is rooted in We see her incredibly deep gaze into the to good than to evil, to qualities in other their purity of the heart, embodied and out- providential hand present and moving in people rather than to their defects. They lined in chapter ten of Francis’ second the ebb and flow of life, the waves, the contemplated everyone and everything Rule.

St Anthony Brief 16 ‘I also warn and exhort the brothers in selves to be transformed through and in and her own true face. The believer the Lord Jesus Christ that they be aware him under the action of the Holy Spirit, becomes what he contemplates. of all pride, vainglory, envy, covetousness, the more they discover their true identity Thus, Clare and Francis are clothed by the cares and solicitudes of this world, of and thus the more they become their true God with the virtues of Christ. Poverty, detraction and murmuring. Let not those selves. humility and charity none of which are the who are ignorant of letters care to learn Clare sums it up beautifully and poeti- fruits of human effort, but gifts of the Spirit. letters, but let them consider that, beyond cally in her fourth letter to Agnes of Consequently, both become true mirrors of all, they should desire to possess the Spirit Prague, ‘Look at the parameters of this Christ, because they have fixed their gaze, of the Lord and his holy operation, to pray mirror, that is, the poverty of him who was rested their minds, hearts and soul on the always to him with a pure heart and to placed in a manger and wrapped in swad- face of the one who transforms them back have humility, patience in persecution and dling clothes. O marvelous humility, O into his own image and likeness. in infirmity and to love those who perse- astonishing poverty! The King of the Clare expresses this contemplative and cute, reprove, and accuse us.’ angels, the Lord of heaven and earth, is transformative dynamic in her Testament, I quote here the important mantra to laid in a manger! Then, look at the surface ‘The Lord himself set himself as a model, be kept in mind when it comes to the of the mirror, dwell on the holy humility, the example and mirror before each one of us Franciscan contemplative looking out on blessed poverty, the untold labours and sisters, so that we, in turn, become a mir- the world: We don’t see things as they are burdens which he endured for the redemp- ror and example for those who live in the but rather as we are. tion of all mankind.’ world.’ In this quote from Francis, we see this Suffice it to say that the contemplation in a nutshell: pride, vainglory, envy, greed, Becoming What We Contemplate of Francis and Clare has nothing to do with anxieties, desire for revenge are all of the For Clare, contemplation is a permanent, superficial devotion or the introspection of ego and are elements which contaminate transforming action. With her characteristic the narcissist. On the contrary, it seeks a the soul impeding it to look clearly on life. exquisite feminine delicacy, she expresses way out of oneself to welcome Jesus who In short, one looks out on to the world and the mystery of the fruitfulness of the prayer reveals the face of God in the face of sees mirrored in it and reflected back that in which, in the mirror of Christ contem- every human being and his presence in all which is within oneself. plated, each one gradually perceives his creation. n

Clare and the Mirror This brings us to another related theme The mirror: an ancient especially of Clare, the symbol of the mir- spiritual symbol ror which she makes reference to a dozen of truth and times in her writings. wisdom. The mirror is a very old symbol found in almost all the great spiritual traditions: Chinese, Taoist, Muslim, Hindu. It is a sym- bol of purity, truth, wisdom and knowledge, reflection of celestial intelligence, and sym- bol of the sun and moon. For the ancients, the soul was a mirror of God. Sin broke this mirror, disfiguring the reflection of God within. So too the Fathers of the Church widely used the theme of the mirror as an image of the soul’s reflection of God. In particular, during the Middle Ages, the age of Clare, a whole literature on the mirror is developed. For example, in our own Franciscan tradition we have the writing, The Mirror of Perfection. Francis and Clare did not simply imitate or follow Christ, firstly, they contemplated him in love and allowed themselves to be trans- formed by him in and through his love. By contemplating in faith the face of Christ incarnated and transfigured, Clare discovers that Jesus is the mirror in which God reveals himself and at the same time in which humanity discovers his and her true image, his and her imago dei. Indeed, the more human beings contem- plate Christ, the more they allow them-

Dec/Jan 2021 17 Learning to Dance the Divine: An Advent Reflection

dvent is that unchangeable sea- of goodness that is undeterred by any son when the same concepts, the Sr Joan Chittister OSB other power on earth – that lies within our A same words rise over and over ponders the deeper grasp, that can really turn all of life benev- again,A year after year, to challenge our olent. hearts and plague our minds. meaning of the Candles are prominent symbols in the Advent is the season of waiting. And who monastery’s Advent services. Candles hasn’t waited? When we are little children, beautiful season focus our minds on the light of Christ and we wait for gifts from our parents. When remind us always that time is going by, we are young adults, we wait for the lover of Advent. that light is ebbing. who will take us to the magic world of Light a candle occasionally during the everything. The problem is that the pre- nity gathers in prayer by candlelight to Advent season and reflect on these ques- sents pale and the magic world sags all anticipate the Sunday feast, to spiritually tions: too quickly into reality. prepare for Christmas. What is time for? But then Advent comes, relentlessly and I love that the community prays the Advent throughout life, with its words of hope and vigils by candlelight. Praying in the dark If time is only for work, then what will be faith – shepherds and magi, crib and star, means that we have to know all the songs left of me when the work is done? and psalms by heart. If you’re looking for a Emmanuel and glory – and stirs our If there is no light in me, what will happen good Advent practice, you might memorise hearts to pinnacles of possibility one more when the darkness comes, as darkness a favourite Advent Scripture passage. time. comes to every life? ‘The power of the Most High will over- Ruben A. Alvez wrote, ‘Hope is hearing What is the gain of leading a useful life if I shadow you,’ the monastic liturgy prays the melody of the future; faith is dancing do not also lead a meaningful one? to it today.’ The real Christmas gift, for during Advent. But who really believes it? – from A Monastery Almanac which Advent is the process, is learning to We spend our lives, as nations and as by Joan Chittister OSB n hum hope, learning to dance the divine. individuals, waiting to be saved by the Advent is a high spiritual season when we power of our own achievements or the prepare to birth the Christ in our lives. In power of destructive force. And yet, it is the monastery we pay special attention to the clear, soft, consuming, overshadowing the vigil services that take place each power of the Most High in us – the power Saturday during Advent. ‘Vigil’ means to keep awake, to be watchful. The commu-

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Adrian Peelo OFM shows how St Francis models for us inner freedom and taking responsibility for our choices.

ccasionally, I am asked what it is I someone who became filled with compas- people was that he encountered God’s most admire about Francis of sion for poor, suffering human beings. mercy toward himself – mercy that O Assisi. People are sometimes sur- released him from fear and set him on the prisedO by my answer. I think they expect Misery and Mercy path to freedom. He had up until then led, me to say that I like how he loves creation, In his own words he says, speaking of the we believe, a vane, fatuous and sinful life; or the poor – that he is a peacemaker and lepers God had led him among, ‘I showed had had his dreams of being a knight shat- a fundamentally joyful saint. And I do mercy to them.’ Mercy or misericordia tered, and following a long stay in a admire all these qualities in him and others comes from the Latin words miseriae squalid prison had become disillusioned to besides. meaning misery and cor meaning the the point of despair. It was then that God’s What I admire and value most in St heart. The heart reaches into the misery grace was able to trickle-in through the Francis, however, is how he always took of suffering in another and mercy is what cracks of vulnerability, mediated by mercy personal responsibility for the choices he happens. This, of course, is what the for the most misfortunate and broken made in life – particularly for the conse- Incarnation of God in Christ is all about; human beings, lepers. quences and actions that flowed from his God reaching into our misery in the person The encounter with lepers became for faith in a loving God, whose relationship to of Jesus and showing mercy to us. Francis Francis an encounter with God’s merciful both himself and all of creation formed the then says, ‘When I left them (the lepers) love in that most unexpected of places, foundation of everything he believed and what had seemed bitter to me was turned where lepers lived, out on the margins. did from the time of his conversion to his into sweetness of soul and body. And after- God’s embrace of mercy cut through the last breath. wards I delayed a little and left the world.’ visceral rejection of engagement with what In his Testament, a short and concise Human beings tend to reject or exclude he most feared and through his own document written at the request of the that which they fear most. We tend to unconscious self-rejection, marking the brothers shortly before his death in demonstrate an antipathy towards ideas moment of conversion and the beginning October 1226, Francis says in the first and people who pose a threat, challenge or of his transformation. paragraph that he came to faith through an disturb us in some way. This bias may encounter with lepers. He had a horror of remain unconscious in us until woken up by Gradual Transformation leprosy for which there was, in those some event. Francis, like many others in his Like all of us, Francis had to work out this times, no cure. To contract it meant ban- day, avoided lepers and victimised them by gradual transformation by choices made in ishment and exclusion from family and judgement and by withholding compassion. the light of his awakening. The encounter society. In the Testament, St Francis says He says in his Testament that the very sight with lepers was, as he relates in the that it was God who led him among lepers of lepers caused him to be nauseous. Testament, just the beginning. He gradu- and that his encounter with them trans- What happened to Francis when God ally embraced the Gospel and took the formed him from a frightened man to led him among wretched and excluded teachings of Jesus to his heart.

St Anthony Brief 20 Through the prism of the Gospel, his own, Francis took personal responsibil- avarice. Where there is rest and medita- Francis made sense of life, identifying with ity before God for the living out of his faith. tion, there is neither anxiety nor restless- the Poor Christ on the Cross, calling men He grew and was transformed, slowly ness. Where there is fear of the Lord to and women of his time to peace and inclu- and often painfully, as we all are by dint of guard an entrance, there the enemy can- sion. Again, and again, he urges his broth- suffering and joy, by humility and love into not have a place to enter. Where there is ers to avoid judgement and gossip both the likeness of the One he followed so a heart full of mercy and discernment, among themselves and abroad, and to closely, Jesus, Son of the Most High God. there is neither excess nor hardness of instead love each other in a maternal, heart.’ unconditional way. Inner Freedom Undoubtedly, this is the wisdom of a To those who ‘do penance’, which for Even 800 years on, Francis’ teachings are man who has come to inner freedom and Francis means an orientation of one’s fresh and speak to our times and circum- to peace by the grace of God. whole life towards the things of God by stances today. Perhaps Francis’ greatest teaching means of a discipline, i.e. following in the In some words of encouragement spo- about taking personal responsibility came footprints of Christ, he promises that ‘the ken to the brothers later in his life, which at the very end of his life. Tradition tells us Spirit of the Lord will rest upon all those show how the emptiness he had once felt that as he lay dying, naked on the ground men and women who have done and per- in the darkness of disillusionment was and facing his beloved Assisi with his severed in these things and It will make a now filled by the Spirit of God, he said, brothers and friends gathered around him, home and a dwelling place in them and ‘Where there is charity and wisdom, there he said this to them and by extension to they will be children of the heavenly is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there all of us, ‘Brothers and sisters, I have Father, whose works they do. And they are is patience and humility, there is neither done what was mine to do, may Christ spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord anger nor disturbance. Where there is teach you what is yours.’ Jesus Christ.’ poverty with joy, there is neither greed nor The Lord give you peace! n In his Letter to the Faithful, he contin- ues, ‘We are spouses when the faithful soul is united by the Holy Spirit to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are brothers, moreover, when we do the will of His Father who is in heaven; mothers when we carry him in our heart and body through love and a pure and sincere conscience; and give him birth through a holy activity, which must shine before others by example.’ Francis stood on his own two feet as a Christian and while he modelled and advo- cated a way of life according to the Gospel, he never compelled others to do so by being authoritarian. And although in his writings he ‘begs’ and sometimes ‘com- mands’ his followers to ‘do penance’, he led primarily by example. He chose for himself and he expected others to do the same with integrity. Despite and not withstanding turmoil and scandal in the Church and in the soci- ety in which he lived, St Francis made his choices and decisions in the light of the Gospel, which was ever his compass. That personal conviction was what attracted others and inspired his followers. He says in the same Testament that, following his conversion, ‘...no one showed me what to do, but the Most High himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pat- tern of the Holy Gospel.’ Francis never abdicated the responsi- bility of living his faith onto anyone else, neither individuals nor the institution. Though guided by the leadership in the Church, to which he was always faithful, Spirit-filled: Francis grew and was transformed, slowly and never criticising its shortcomings but rather often painfully.

Dec/Jan 2021 21 News from around the . . . Franciscan World

FRIAR APPOINTED OF JERUSALEM The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM as Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins. Since 2016 he has been apostolic administrator of the patriarchal diocese of Jerusalem. His Beatitude (his new title) was born in 1965 in Bergamo, Italy, New Patriarch: and joined the Franciscan Order receiving the pallium there. He has served in the Holy from Pope Francis, Land since 1990, including as a symbol of his pastor to Hebrew-speaking ecclesial authority. Catholics and as Custos. n

HONORARY DOCTORATE On 21 October 2020, Perry OFM, Minister General and Chancellor of the Franciscan Pontifical Antonianum University, presented an honorary doctor- ate in philosophy to His Holiness Bartholomew, Orthodox Archbishop of Constantinople. He was hon- oured primarily for his ongoing theological work on ecology and the care of creation. Receiving the honour, the archbishop said, ‘For us, taking care of the natural resources of our planet is a matter of being truthful before God and the cre- ated order. This is why we repeatedly condemn envi- ronmental abuse as nothing other than a sin. We must remember that caring for creation is not primarily Honoured: Archbishop a political or technological or economic question. It is Bartholomew at the ceremony. first of all a religious and ethical question since God created the world.’ n

San Damiano: Brs Ian Cunningham and Philip McMahon are pictured at the sanctuary of San Damiano during a visit to Assisi. They are both studying in Abundant blessings: Warmest and congratulations to Fr Sheward members Mandongwe OFM who was of the ordained recently in Zimbabwe. community May the Lord bless his priestly in St Isidore’s ministry abundantly. College. St Anthony Brief 22 Holy Spirit, As the elastic touches my ears, A Prayer as I Put remind me to listen carefully – and full of care – to all those I meet. May this simple piece of cloth be on My Mask shield and banner, Loving Creator, Christ, and each breath that it holds, as I prepare to go into the world, since my lips will be covered, be filled with your love. help me to see the sacrament uncover my heart, in the wearing of this cloth – that people would see my smile In your Name and let it be ‘an outward sign in the crinkles around my eyes. in that love, I pray. of an inward grace’ – Since my voice may be muffled, May it be so. a tangible and visible way of living help me to speak clearly, Amen. love for my neighbours, not only with my words, as I love myself. but with my actions. – Richard Bott

MANY NATIONS, ONE PURPOSE This year the International OFM Novitiate in Killarney, Ireland, has welcomed three novices. Koen Van Durme, a Belgian, but a novice for the Dutch Province; Matthias Borchardt, from the German Province; and Niklaus Meienberg from the Swiss Custody dependent on the Austrian/Italian Province of St Leopold.

The Novice Master, Antony Jukes OFM, is an Englishman and the Solemnly Professed community includes a Danish and a German friar as well as its Irish friars.

Killarney has traditionally been a popular tourist destination so the local people who frequent the friary are well accustomed to international visitors and a wide variety of The Killarney fraternity with Minister Provincial, Aidan McGrath accents! n (third from right) at the ceremony for the reception of the novices.

Dec/Jan 2021 23 Jesus: Man of Prayer and Teacher of Prayer

he Gospel of Luke begins with Chapter 6: ‘During these days he went the priest Zechariah ministering Tom Russell OFM out on the mountain to pray; and he T in the temple of God and con- spent the whole night in prayer to cludesT with the apostles praising God in shows how Jesus’ God.’ Come daybreak he will call and that very same temple. Such inclusion choose twelve of his disciples and highlights the holy presence of God per- intimacy in prayer name them apostles. vading the story of Jesus and his min- Chapter 9: ‘Jesus took with him Peter istry. with the Father was and John and James and went up the The Jewish people were indeed mountain to pray. And while he was God’s chosen people, a holy people who the heart of his life praying, the appearance of his face knew how to worship the one true God changed, and his clothes became daz- in prayer – whether alone, or together and mission. zling white.’ Again, Jesus enters into on the Sabbath, or as a people celebrat- deep communion with the Father in ing great feast days in the temple in a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son the Beloved, with whom the embrace of the common Spirit. A Jerusalem. Jesus was born into this scene of glory! people who really knew how to pray. I am well pleased.’ Jesus is at once This was the rock from which he was affirmed in his identity and confirmed in Shortly afterwards, Jesus taught his hewn, from which he soared. With that view of the mission awaiting him. disciples, ‘This kind of evil can only be background we may look at St Luke’s Chapter 4: Jesus is teaching and heal- driven out by prayer.’ Prayer was a Gospel to note the living example of ing in Capernaum on the shore of Lake powerful weapon. Jesus himself, and to glean some of his Galilee. Then ‘at daybreak he departed Chapter 10: Prayer was also joy. many teachings on prayer. and went to a deserted place’. ‘Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and

Chapter 5: Jesus is now in full ministry, said, I thank you Father, Lord of Jesus’ Personal Example preaching and healing. ‘But he would heaven and earth…’ Chapter 3: After Jesus was baptised in withdraw to deserted places to pray.’ Chapter 11: Jesus was praying in a the river Jordan ‘and was praying, the Later on, the monks will also seek out certain place, and after he had fin- heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit the desert, the eremos, an díseart – the ished, one of his disciples said to him, descended upon him in bodily form like desert in Irish. ‘Lord, teach us to pray as John taught

St Anthony Brief 24 his .’ The answer was the Our deep prayer ‘with loud cries and silent the widow who wouldn’t take no for an Father, thank God! tears to God’. In all this we sense his answer until her case was heard. Chapter 22: At the Last Supper, Jesus intimacy and union with the Father and Chapter 21: Prayer is shown as a cen- told Peter, ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan his being filled with light and strength tral part in being ready and prepared has demanded to sift all of you like by the Holy Spirit. for hard times. ‘Be alert at all times, wheat, but I have prayed for you that praying that you may have the your own faith may not fail, and you, Jesus’ Holy Teachings strength to escape all that will take once you have turned back, strengthen As example speaks louder than words, place, and to stand before the Son of your brothers.’ Prayer can indeed be a it is little wonder that the apostles, Man.’ grim struggle, a pleading. themselves no strangers to prayer, The scene is now Gethsemane. As would be moved, fascinated and Spiritual Oxygen Jesus prays and agonises, the three attracted by the daily prayer practice of The old saying tells us that prayer apostles nod off and he reprimands the Master. moves the hand that moves the world. them, ‘Rise and pray continually that Chapter 6: In speaking of difficult rela- St Thérèse used the image of a lever you may not be exposed to temptation.’ tionships, Jesus instructs, ‘Love your – when the lever is poised on the right Chapter 23: Finally, Jesus is praying enemies, do good to those who hate fulcrum (God) it can lift up the world. while he is on the Cross, especially that you, bless those who curse you, pray Prayer is our faith come alive. It is the God forgive us who do not know what for those who abuse you.’ inbreathing of the Holy Spirit making we do. Chapter 10: Jesus tells his disciples to mountains to move. Humble, preserving, petitionary Then in later New Testament writings ‘ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest’. prayer flows from a deep sense of our we find three passages that tell us that sinfulness and yet our utter depen- the Risen Jesus now ‘lives to intercede Chapter 11: The Lord encourages us to dence on God’s providence. for us’. Thank God again! be persistent in our praying, keep on If to breathe is to be alive then Our Saviour Jesus Christ was always in asking ‘and it will be given to you’. prayer is our spiritual oxygen, being constant contact with ‘heaven control’. Chapter 18: Jesus tells his disciples a alive in the Holy Spirit. And we in our He knew moments of joy, praise and parable about ‘the need to pray always turn become life-givers in our turbu- exultation, while also experiencing and not to lose heart’. The story is about lent times. n JOHN BRADBURNE: SERVANT OF GOD ohn Randal Bradburne was an Englishman whose long spiritual search led him to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). A Third Order John Randal Franciscan, he spent his last years in loving service of the lepers at Mutemwa.J He was killed in 1979 during the liberation struggle in that Bradburne country. 1921-1979 In July 2019, the Holy See gave the approval for the start of the cause of “Servant of God” his canonisation by giving John Bradburne the title of Servant of God. In this new book, Franciscan Tom Russell OFM, who himself worked for decades in Zimbabwe, reflects on the life of this extraordinary man. In particular, this book draws upon Bradburne’s many mystical poems to appreciate his profound spirituality and his message for our time. This beautiful book is available for €10 at the Franciscan friary shops in Tom Russell O.F.M. Merchants’ Quay, Dublin, Killarney, Co. Kerry and Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal. n

Dec/Jan 2021 25 Pope Francis called Fr Javier Leoz, a Spanish priest in Pamplona, to congratulate him on a poem he had written about Christmas during this time of the pandemic. The poem tells us that this Christmas, simpler and quieter than in previous years, gives us the opportunity to better celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Will there be Christmas? A Blessing for All Who Listen Of course! Twenty-three Sisters live in the Arundel More silent and with more depth. Poor Clare Monastery, located in the coun- More like unto the first one, when Jesus was born in solitude. tryside just outside the medieval town of Arundel in the south of England. They Without many lights on earth recently produced a CD, Light for the World, but with the star of Bethlehem that is proving very popular. shining on paths of life in its immensity. The UK’s classical music radio station, Without colossal royal processions Classic FM, reports that the Poor Clares’ album, Light for the World, is having but with the humility of feeling as if we are unprecedented success, taking the number shepherds, young and old, seeking the Truth. one spot in both the Classical Artist Album Without big tables and with bitter absences Chart and Classical Specialist Album but with the presence of a God who will fill everything. Chart.

Will there be Christmas? Some of the songs sung by the Sisters fea- ture excerpts from the writings of St Clare Of course! and St Francis, but there are also Latin Without streets overflowing with people hymns and other mediaeval texts. The with our hearts burning words and music are destined to linger in for the One who is about to arrive. the heart, which the Sisters hope will be a Without noise or festivals, blessing to all who listen. complaints or stampedes … More information: www.poorclares but living the Mystery without fear arundel.org/light-for-the-world of the ‘COVID-Herod’ that tries to rob us even of the dream of waiting.

There will be Christmas because GOD is on our side and he shares, as Christ did in a manger, our poverty, trials, tears, and anguish.

There will be Christmas because we need a divine light in the midst of such darkness. COVID-19 will never be able to reach the heart or soul of those who put their hope and their high ideal in heaven.

There will be Christmas! We will sing Christmas carols. God will be born and will bring us freedom. n

St Anthony Brief 26 Building a More Human World

The Gubbio Project: Homeless people sleep in St Boniface Franciscan church, San Francisco.

ubbio is an Italian town where, Religious at the United Nations according to legend, St Francis Gearóid Ó Conaire Many religious institutes have tradition- G negotiated a peace agreement OFM shares uplifting ally tended to respond to immediate betweenG frightened people and a hungry needs. However, in recent decades there wolf. examples of men and is a growing consciousness not only of Some of the 10,000 homeless in San the need to provide ‘food for the hungry’ Francisco, USA, come to St Boniface women religious but to ensure they can provide it for church in the city centre. A project, known themselves, and to work so that struc- as Gubbio, founded by the friars, uniquely inspired by the Spirit tures of social injustice that keep people allows some of the homeless to rest and poor and hungry can be changed. sleep on the benches of the church from to work for the Twenty-three religious congregations, early morning to mid-afternoon. Kingdom of God in the either individually or as part of a group, One morning I attended Mass in that are working in Geneva, linked with their Franciscan church. And I had a profound midst of the world. presence at the United Nations (UN) experience of the link between the Jesus there. Many of these congregations and Christ in the Eucharist and Jesus present Jesus came so that all might have life others are also working at the UN in New in those men and women sleeping in the and have it to the full. I became more York. Congregations have assigned church. conscious of the real presence of Jesus members to work at the UN in an NGO There were 80 people behind me, both in the transformed bread and wine capacity. Likewise, they have representa- mostly men, asleep or resting on the and in the least of his brothers and sis- tives following the work of international benches. During the Gospel reading I ters resting, many probably unaware of institutions such as the World Bank, heard someone snoring. The Mass pro- what was taking place on the altar. International Monetary Fund (IMF), etc. ceeds and we continue to pray. At the Laura Slattery, the executive director Franciscans International is one of consecration, as the priest lifts up the of the project, commented, ‘I want the these NGOs. The objective is to influ- bread and the wine and pronounces the churches to take the lead in showing that ence policy from a Gospel perspective in words of consecration, I felt shivers run what we should fear most is the damage favour of the ‘common good’. We all down my spine, as I contemplate the that clinging to our stereotypes and fear know big business and other interest extraordinary nature of what is happening. of homeless people does to us.’ groups work tirelessly to influence socio-

Dec/Jan 2021 27 political and economic policy in their OFM, in Cabo San Luis in Mexico, a few grassroots communities flourish! I must favour. This arena provides an excep- months before he died in 2005. We had ask my dear brother priests to make tional space for evangelisation and mis- worked together in El Salvador in the communities flourish everywhere – in sion. past. He had worked on the other side of neighbourhoods, in villages, among fami- Instead of just dealing with the con- a very prosperous tourist town, where he lies. For “where two or three gather in sequences of unjust or plain bad legisla- was ministering to poor migrant families my name,” there is the sacramental tion, religious and their partners are helping develop Basic Christian sign.’ increasingly becoming involved in con- Communities. tributing to policy, at the drafting stages, Fifteen years later, I meet Ed sitting The Gift of Presence in Haiti to ensure that the ‘common good’ is in front of a makeshift dwelling waiting Columba is a Mexican Franciscan, 66 respected and promoted in every arena for the people he had invited earlier that years of age. He opted for the Haiti mis- affecting human life, dignity and the day to come together to pray and reflect sion after years in Africa. In 2013, I ecosystems on which all life depends. accompany him on his daily stroll An Example around the market from Croatia which surrounds Fr Boze Vuleta the Franciscan fri- OFM received a ary and Church in copy of a book- Port-au-Prince. let, Water for The Church, Life, published by badly damaged the Union of by an earth- Superiors General quake, is sur- in Rome in 2001. rounded by thou- He realised that sands of poor this was an impor- Haitians selling tant issue for vegetables, fruit Croatia. During the and meat. research for their Columba revised edition, knew everyone, those working in many by name the Franciscan and everyone Institute for the knew him. He Culture of Peace stopped to realised that the chat, engaged Croatian govern- with each ment was about to individual, introduce water leg- expressed his joy to be with them and islation. They managed to highlight some A family in Haiti: being with moved on. This was a daily ritual. He of the more extreme deficiencies in the and among the poor. was like a musician or a jester with a government’s national strategy which led with him. My mind returned to the days gang of children and young people fol- to a national re-think in 2004. of El Salvador and I remembered the dif- lowing behind. It was obvious that he The group was the first to question ficult and tiring work and wondered loved and was loved by the people. After the issue concerning the privatisation of would I have the energy and passion to the earthquake, he and the friars from water resources and some possible neg- begin again. I shared my doubts with Ed his fraternity accepted a project sup- ative consequences, in a country that and asked him why, after getting a diag- ported by Hindu monks to provide hot has extensive water resources. The nosis of incurable cancer, he was begin- food daily for the neediest children and Franciscans, also through the Institute, ning again. He told me that his vocation their mothers. It is still ongoing. On the helped stop the building of a gas electric was to help build community. rounds we visited a voodoo temple to plant at the site of a large lake on the Ed was also inspired by St Oscar greet more friends. Cetina river. It was replaced instead with Romero who in September 1978 spoke In a short period of time, Columba a reversible hydroelectric plant. They are about the importance of community dur- managed to insert himself into this diffi- presently working with the Croatian ing his Sunday homily. He said, ‘What cult and complex reality. His missionary Sunday Alliance on a national campaign does Christ himself say? “Where two or options were clear: to be with and among to ban work on Sundays. three gather in my name, there am I in the poor. their midst.” Thank you, Lord. For where I hope to continue to share uplifting Building Community in Mexcio there is community that begins to reflect examples of efforts by committed individ- At the core of missionary evangeliation, on your words with religious sincerity, uals for the good of humanity and for the whether we are lay or religious, is the there you are, Christ, the Blessed One, whole of creation. development of inclusive communities. I humanity’s Liberator. How my heart is n visited a Franciscan friend, Br Ed Dunne filled with hope by a Church where [email protected]

St Anthony Brief 28 Coronavirus, Passion and Ministry ope Francis wrote in The Even as I write, the coron- Joy of the Gospel, ‘I avirus has brought the West, Pinvite everyone to be bold indeed the world, to its knees! and creative in this task of In recent times here in Ireland rethinking the goals, style and we have had a deluge of storms methods of evangelisation in with names such as Ophelia, their respective communities.’ Denise, Ciara and Desmond. The When your priestly, episcopal Irish weather forecasting service or religious service to humanity (Met Éireann) and other agencies begins to be pressed beyond the have been outstanding in steering limits of the familiar you are the nation through these difficult likely to behave, to think and to times. Their sense of anticipation respond differently. You may be so often warned people of jolted into questioning the values impending extreme weather. of your previous daily routine, Lives were saved; lessons were values that once gave your life learned. And we felt more ready its meaning. for the future. The Bible is full of these situ- One fine day Jesus said to ations, especially in the lives of the people, ‘When you see a the prophets, who were so often cloud rising in the west, immedi- asked to go far beyond, indeed, ately you say, “It’s going to rain,” to break away from, their own and it does. And when the south previously comfortable lives. wind blows, you say, “It’s going Something else can happen to be hot,” and it is. Hypocrites! to you too. The deeper you’re You know how to interpret the sucked into a convulsing human appearance of the earth and the drama, the more real you seem sky. How is it that you don’t to become. The more you face know how to interpret this pre- yourself alone. The more you interpret As a Franciscan priest, sent time?’ (Luke 12:56). and reinterpret your vocation. And the Are we trying to interpret the present more you ponder the urgency, the per- Paddy Noonan OFM times? Or are we a veiled hindrance? ceptions, and the evangelical outlook reflects on the pastoral Perhaps following conspiracy theories and outreach of the institutions you rep- more bizarre even than The Da Vinci resent. implications of the Code! It affects pastoral ministry too. You And another question arises. What can easily find yourself in a no-man’s- ongoing pandemic. was to be the pastoral role of the clergy in land of Church ministry and practice. For This is an abridged the Solidarity movement in Poland in the example, in critical times of major social early eighties? Or the role of the clergy in threat or change should ministers and version of an article East and West Berlin leading up to the fall priests remain in their church rectories, or of the Communist wall in the early presbyteries and leave ‘politics’ to the written for The Furrow. nineties? Today, religious and laity are laity? bled people of God in life-threatening cir- dying on the frontlines of the coronavirus At what point must we realise it’s time cumstances? pandemic. They are the martyrs and to act together? When there is a tragic There is nothing in pastoral manuals saints of the future. They have taken the death, should we insist on ministering to about ‘crisis ministry’. option to die so that oth- the deceased of our own denomination When great human suffering strikes ers may live. Truly may they rest in peace. only? Should we use this as an occasion the parish or diocese and bangs urgently The world awaits further daring to preach our own Church dogmas, at grand presbytery doors – what do we Christian responses to the coronavirus evil deities and doctrines? Should we be do? Traditionally, ministers and priests of because now we are ‘doing theology at unduly concerned about conformity, cleri- the world are obliged to discern prayer- the coalface of experience’ (Redemptorist cal decorum or the precision of rubrics fully what steps to take in any urgent pas- Bishop Kevin Dowling, South Africa). That when carrying out our duties to the trou- toral situation. That’s my own experience. makes a huge difference. n

Dec/Jan 2021 29 MISSION DIGEST 500 YEARS OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

In 2021 the Philippines will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the coming of Christianity. The Franciscans are looking at the friars’ contribution to the evangelisation of the Philippines since their arrival in 1577. Aside from the founding of towns and parishes, the Franciscans also dedicated themselves to the establishment of hospitals and the country’s first leprosarium. The friars also produced the first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary published in 1613, the authorship of the first book printed in the Philippines in 1593, and the first catechism on the Ten Commandments in Tagalog. And linked with the preaching of Christ there was the social action inspired by the Gospel: the first water system and free-loan banks (Montes de Piedad), and the building of infrastructure such as roads, dams, and bridges. At present, the friars continue to minister in various parts of the country in numerous parishes, schools and in other various ministries. n

St Anthony Brief 30 Help Us to Help Them!

An Appeal in Honour of St Anthony

St Anthony is Patron of the Franciscan Missions. And we invite you, in honour of the beloved saint, to sup- port the Franciscans in their mission in Zimbabwe. While the 21st century has brought many changes since the time of St Anthony, some things remain much the same. Thank God one of them is that fine young men still follow in St Anthony’s footsteps in the Franciscan way of life. And many travel to remote and sometimes dangerous places to spread the Good News of Christ. Zimbabwe Mission The Irish Franciscan Province has a major role in sup- porting the friars in Zimbabwe as they struggle to serve their people in that country which has suffered and is still suffering so much. Founded by Irish Franciscan missionaries, the Custody of the Good Shepherd in Zimbabwe has been blessed by many young Zimbabweans joining the Order. Beginning the journey: In Zimbabwe, the new postulants In their life and ministry, the Zimbabwean friars (Tafara, Courage, Keenwell, Alois and Brandon) are depend greatly on the generous support of the Irish people. The needs of the Franciscans and the people in pictured with Aidan McGrath, Minster Provincial Zimbabwe continue to be very great. (centre), Jean Claude Hakizuwera (left) and Muquelisi Sibanda (right). The Irish Franciscans are undertaking an exciting pro- gramme over the next three years to raise €150,000 to support the educational cost for our young friars in formation in Zimbabwe. The goal is to help them to become authentic witnesses to Christ in their future service to their own people. Your support means that a Zimbabwean Franciscan is prepared for ministry so that for many years to come he can be a bearer of the Lord’s grace and compassion among those who struggle.

Can You Help? Please contact Fr Vincent in our Rossnowlagh friary if you feel you can help and support us in this very worthwhile work in the service of the Gospel. Thank you for your generous and loving support to date. May God bless and reward you. Fr Vincent Finnegan OFM, Franciscan Development Office, The Friary, Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal. Phone: 353-087-7031366. Deepening faith: friars accompany the youth. Living the Joy of the Gospel as a Franciscan Friar!

Join us in a life of… Prayer, Brotherhood, and Loving Service Contact: Friar Liam Kelly OFM, Franciscan Vocations Office, Franciscan Friary, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Phone: 087 396 0262. Email: [email protected] Website: www.franciscans.ie