Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 9 September 2020, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Welcome to my home and to my chapel. In today’s Gospel from St Luke (6:20-26) we are given the “roadmap” of Christian living, the Beatitudes, the Blessings. Prior to his teaching on the beatitudes, according to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had gone up the mountain to pray. He then summoned his disciples and, from among them, chose his twelve apostles. Together with them he then descended from the mountain and went on level ground where a large crowd had gathered to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. We hear that people with unclean spirits were also cured. This is what happened next:

Jesus lifted his eyes on his disciples and said, “Blessed are you poor for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.

Let us pray:

O God, who chose the Blessed Virgin Mary from among the poor and humble, to be the Mother of the Saviour, grant we pray, that following her example and acknowledging our littleness, we may offer to you sincere hearts and place in you all our hope for salvation. We make this prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.

We are well accustomed to hear the Gospel reading of the Beatitudes. We know they are “counter cultural” values, going in a different direction from how most of us would like our lives to be. Who, after all, wishes to be poor, to hunger, to weep or to be hated by others. We aspire, at the very least, to have sufficient to sustain our lives and to enjoy life as much we can with laughter, rather than sorrow. We desire to love and to be loved by others. But, of course, the Beatitudes do not refer to the material aspects of life, but refer to the attitudes and virtues that are meant to inspire and guide us in living a Christian life.

Let us briefly have a look at the different beatitudes. We are the blessed poor because we recognize our inner insufficiency. We are not perfect, we are very often blind to knowing right and wrong. We are poor because we get our values mixed up and follow false paths. We are poor because, while we can acknowledge that others are different to us, we battle to accept difference. Pride, fundamentalism and arrogance all militate against this type of poverty, this recognition of true self. Similarly, we hunger always, because we have tasted that the Lord is good, in the words of St Peter (1 Peter 2:3). We hunger to know God and to know truth, and we thirst to drink from the wells of God, the wells of grace and love. But those wells are deep and so we always thirst for more – more depth within ourselves, more authenticity more sincerity. We hunger because often we are only drawing from the surface of God’s depth in our prayer life, in our appreciation of God’s Word and the sacraments and in the way in which we express true and sacrificial love to those who suffer. And we weep. We weep for our own mistakes of the past and present, for our sinfulness, for the sinfulness of a world that is often uncaring, unjust, violent, cruel and oppressive of people. We may well be hated by others on account of Jesus, but not because we seek hatred. It is a hatred that arises because there are those who hate truth. The true disciple will always be firm in standing for the truth and for justice, but will always do so humbly and without any sense of self-righteousness or superiority. It is a hatred that arises because some perceive truth to be a threat to them. After all, to take a topical example, among the corrupt who will be hated the most, a fellow corrupt person or an honest person? Clearly, it will be the honest person because he is a threat to the corrupt. We will be hated for the prophetic nature of Christianity that calls people back to the goodness of creation, the meaning of our existence and to a culture of life – that calls us to an abandonment of selfishness, domination, greed and violence. It is a path of respect for all life from womb to tomb.

Jesus preached this profound homily after healing many people of their ailments and casting out evil. The sermon is a logical continuation of showing the way for a much deeper and more whole personal healing but also a deep healing of humankind, of relationships and of society. While it is a way of poverty, hunger, weeping and rejection, it is in fact, in a much more profound sense, the way of richness, of joy, of peace and satisfaction. Above all, it is the way of love as we go deeper into the mystery of God’s unfathomable love and mercy and, through our commitment to follow him, we seek ways to image his love and grace to a world that hungers to find light, rest and peace.

Let us now pray for God’s blessing:

The Lord be with you R/ And with your spirit

Grant that the hearts of your faithful may submit to your merciful love, that we may always seek your help knowing that without your guidance we can do nothing that is just so that strengthened by our faith we may know what is right and receive all the help we need for our good. We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, amen.

And may Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. 

Auxiliary Bishop Sylvester David offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Friday 4 September 2020, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf. 

Reflection for Friday 4^th September 2020.

Our first reading for Mass today is from 1 Corinthians 4:1-5. I want to look at the first verse – in fact at just three words, because they inform us of what our attitude to the liturgy should be. We are told exactly what the role of a minister is. Paul asks us to “carefully calculate” (translated as “regard”) what we are all about. In other words we need to develop an awareness of what we do and why we do it. We do not simply roll out of bed and into the church. We do it knowingly and deliberately.

While the translation says that we are first of all servants of Christ, the original text informs us that we are attendants of Christ. This is a position of subservience. No one can be an attendant of someone who is absent. 

The Church guides us well with the notion of Real Presence. At our Eucharistic celebrations for example, Christ is present in four ways: (i) in the body assembled for worship – remember where two or three are gathered in my name I am there (Matthew 18:20); (ii) in the minister – who acts in persona Christi; (iii) in the proclamation of the Gospel; and (iv) pre-eminently in the Eucharistic species. When we gather for worship the place is super-saturated with the presence of Christ. That is why the longing for a return to Mass is so important. This longing is a viable stage in the spiritual lives of the Faithful during this pandemic – let us keep it and nurture it. 

But sometimes the opposite is shown. Recently I heard someone say that one does not have to go to Church in order to be a Christian. During the pandemic that becomes necessary – but ordinarily that argument makes no sense. Luke 4:16 tells us that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath “as was his custom”. If attendance at liturgical worship with the gathered assembly was good enough for Jesus, it ought to be good enough for his disciples. We are after all attendants of Christ – not merely his fan club – and he seeks our table companionship.

The last word I want to refer to is “steward” – used twice in our first reading. The word used is the one from which we get the English word “economy”. It has to do with house keeping. Those entrusted with this task had to be trustworthy. House keeping had to follow certain rules as set down by the Master of the house. In the text St Paul says that we are stewards of the “mysteries of God”. These mysteries put us in touch with the divine and in our time we need to re-learn how to approach the Holy. 

Perhaps a good way to spend our time as we prepare for further integration into the worshipping community is to read the General Instruction on the Roman Missal that forms the introduction to our Sunday missals, or perhaps download it from the Vatican website (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html). Locally we have the Pastoral Introduction to the Order of the Mass – PIOM. I wish you joy as you discover the depth of the Church’s worship tradition.

Let us pray: Father, just like your Son’s apostles we too say: “Teach us to pray”. Teach us how to prepare for prayer and to honour the sacred traditions handed on to us by our Mothers and Fathers in the faith. Ultimately teach us how to have union with you through our worship. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Blessing]

Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 2 September 2020, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Despite all the difficulties we experience in life, and this has been a particularly traumatic and unsettling  year, time passes. As we enter into the month of September, so winter begins to fade and the spring, with its promise of new life and new growth, enters in. The seasons themselves bear testimony to the fact that all things pass and there is always hope for the future. Welcome to this reflection. In today’s First Reading we hear Paul addressing the Corinthians (1Corinthians 3:1-9) in his first letter. He says:

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labour. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

We will use the collect of the Mass for the opening prayer.

Let us pray

God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.

The Corinthians were a divided community and some of them even questioned the orthodoxy of Paul’s preaching.  He mildly rebukes them in today’s Reading as some of them were saying things like “I belong to Paul”, or “I belong to Apollos”. He points out that both he and Apollos are servants “through whom you believed” and, while one planted the seed (Paul) the other watered it (Apollos), it is God who gives the growth and not human beings. An important lesson from this encounter is that we all need to have our focus on God and not on our fellow human beings. 

This is a very practical message,  because it is so easy for us to become attached to a priest or deacon because the person seems to be speaking to us and therefore we tend to see fault in others who do not seem to be reaching us. As with Paul and Apollos, God calls people of different backgrounds, skills and talents to his service. We will like some and not particularly like others, but all are servants of God who have been called to preach his message and to water the field. But it is God who gives the growth and so the servant is not who is important. If we put our faith in a human being there is a good chance that, in some way or another, that person will disappoint us at some stage. 

It is remarkable in some parishes, where perpetual or partially perpetual adoration has been introduced how this helps people to focus their lives on God. Many priests have told me of the change that comes about in a parish where it is possible to have regular adoration. And it is equally true, that if we focus on God in our families, we are strengthened to preserve unity and to meet the different struggles of life without being overcome by them. There is an abundance of truth in the saying that “the family who prays together stays together”. Prayer is not just about asking for those things we need or praying for those we love – prayer changes us as people. It makes us conscious of God and his presence in our lives, it reminds us of the meaning and purpose of our existence and that there is something much more profound beyond us. It puts things in perspective and so eases the many worries and anxieties we may have. It calms us down and even if there are still unsettling aspects to our lives we experience an inner harmony that comes from knowing we are not alone.  Focussing our lives on God enables us to live spiritual lives and to bring under control the “unspiritual” things such as jealousy and dissension, which St Paul talks about in the Reading. So we strive, as disciples, to always focus on God in our lives, no matter what our status, profession or situation in life is.

The second great lesson from this Reading is found in the beautiful words of St Paul when he says “For we are God’s fellow workers”.  While Paul was speaking of himself and Apollos in this regard, it is not only those different and varied people who have been entrusted with the specific calling of pastoring to the family of God who are his fellow workers. We should all see ourselves as being fellow workers of God in the service of giving growth to his Kingdom. We are all called to make a difference in the world and to promote the values of the Kingdom – such values as truth, peace, unity, justice, righteousness, love and so on. It is a wonderful reality to realise that we are working with God for the greater good, that we are working with fellow believers – those we get on with and those we have difficulty with – for a common purpose and for the good of others. But, of course, we  can never come to that realization unless we are focussed on God and we are people of prayer. And so it quite right to pray for God to “renew the face of the earth” and to make ourselves willing servants of that renewal.

Let us now pray for God’s blessing:

The Lord be with you                                                                  R/ And with your spirit

Look, O Lord, on the prayers of your family, and grant us the assistance we humbly implore, so that, strengthened by the help we need, we may persevere in confessing your name and uniting all our good works with the sacrifice of your Son Jesus. We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, amen.

May almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

The end of the month of August saw a rising surge of anger from South African citizens across the board about corruption around the Covid-19 fund. A number of radio programs and interviews, television discussions, newspaper articles and the circulating social media posts including the “Voetsek ANC” poster indicate this sense of having had enough of corruption among the ordinary people. 

Churches and civil bodies have embarked on focused analysis and thinking about this new “pandemic” of corruption. There is a feeling that South Africa is going towards the direction of being known for corruption as a country. As Columbia is known for drugs, Mali for child soldiers, Nigeria for terrorist groups, Saudi Arabia for lack of women’s rights, lately Zimbabwe for human rights violations, and other countries known for bad things, South Africa is fast becoming known as a country where corruption is a way of life, much similar to what Kenya was once known for. 

There is a growing worry that corruption is beginning to shape the soul of our nation to the point where it is becoming synonymous to South Africa so that if you want to say “corruption” the same meaning will be understood when you say “South Africa”. In view of this emerging culture and identity forced on us by those in the leadership and their cronies, let us as citizens refuse to let corruption culture characterize our country. As we enter the heritage month of September, God forbid that the heritage we shall be passing on to the next generation will be the heritage of corruption. We must refuse to be defined as a country by corruption. In addition to the to call not to let South Africa be known as a Republic of Sexual Abuse and basher of women, we must also be resolute in our refusal to let South Africa be known as a Republic of corruption. 

The call is not so much to invite the citizens to complain about corruption but for citizens to resist those who want this country to be defined by corruption. We must act against corruption because corruption is contrary to the values we stand for as Africans, as Christians and as a democratic country. As Africans we cherish the value of Ubuntu, and care and corruption is an insult to these values. As Christians we believe in serving rather than being served, and corrupt leaders practice the exact opposite of this value. As democrats we hold the civil servants we elect accountable to us but the corrupt leaders see themselves as accountable to no one. 

Everyone who commits crime faces the demands of the law and suffers the consequence, yet the corrupt criminals who pose as leaders get away with it. They get to avoid wearing orange overalls in jail and continue looting with impunity while they continue to enjoy a life of opulence at the expense of poor people and at the detriment of the image and development of the country. 

The call is to fight corruption before it takes root in our country. The first step to fight corruption is to become aware of it. Generally described, corruption is “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain” (cf. www.transparency.org). This general description is applicable to all, and not only to the government officials. It calls on each and everyone one of us to evaluate how we use the power, resources and trust assigned to us for their intended purpose. 

Let us keep in mind that even the use of time for which we are paid and supported for “private gain” is corruption because it is not our time, we are paid for it. Consequently, to come to the office and hang one’s jacket on the chair and leave the office to do one’s private business in town is corruption. The use of facilities meant for our work for “private gain” is corruption. Consequently, to use the telephone provided for the purpose of our work to phone family members and friends is corruption. To use the vehicle provided for the purpose of our work for private trips and to make money is corruption. 

At personal level it should haunt one at the end of the day when one enjoys a sumptuous meal and a comfortable bed in a cosy room and yet cannot say in clear conscience that today enough work was done to earn one’s living. This is not only stealing from those who have entrusted the resources but it is also an insult to one’s dignity to eat without earning one’s food. I suppose it is for this reason that St Paul gave the injunction: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Corrupt people live and eat without earning their living and the food they eat.

Looking at it this way will help us understand that corruption is subtly lurking in our daily lives even at our homes and in our daily interaction with each other. One could say that even our failure to do our fair share of tasks or duties in our families and in communities has an element of corruption because while others oblige to fulfill their responsibility towards us, we fail to do the same and get away with it; such disposition and practice is not fair, it is corrupt. 

In addition to what corruption is, it is its consequences that are disturbing. The evil of corruption is that it results in common good objectives not being achieved, and with the majority of people not getting the rights which belong to them, while a few thugs wrongfully get more than what they should get. In short, corruption leads to injustice. This in turn leads to a sense of disgruntlement and lack of social cohesion that I referred to at the beginning of this article. Corruption leads to lack of trust in leadership and even to cynicism, hence many people no longer care about voting when election time comes. Corruption is thus not conducive for nation building and must be dealt with decisively. 

Time for complaining about corruption has come to an end; something must be done even during this time of Covid-19, which places limitations of movement and activity. Without propagating for the transgression of Covid-19 safety measures let us begin to think creatively about actions that can be taken, for we cannot wait until the Covid-19 pandemic is over to act. The time is now. Let us refuse to be defined by corruption as a country. 

As we get enraged with corruption, let us remember that the call against corruption starts with us. In our personal lives and in our work. We must not be liable for acts and dispositions that smack of corruption, otherwise we have no right to speak against it. This is true of us men and women of the cloth as well because accounts and incidents of corruption are not missing us. Let us pray to be relieved of corruption and this will enable us to speak and act against corruption with integrity. 

Article written by: 
Bishop Sithembele Sipuka 
Catholic Bishop of Mthatha and President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops 

Contacts: 
083 546 1889 
bishopsipuka@gmail.com 

Auxiliary Bishop Sylvester David offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Friday 28 August 2020, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf. 

Reflection for Friday 28^th August 2020. Text: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

The first reading of today’s Mass necessitates a reflection on the Cross. From the earliest of times the Cross has always been the dividing line between authentic Christian faith and watered down versions of it. The Cross has always been difficult to take. We see this in the Gospels when Jesus announces it. The are three revelations of the Cross in each of the first three Gospels. Every time Jesus reveals the Cross the disciples fight either with him or among themselves. The first time Peter remonstrated with him (Mark 8:32), the second time they were arguing about who was the greatest (Mark 9:34) and the third time he announces the passion two wanted places of honour and the other ten were indignant with them (Mark 10:35-41). Each time Jesus has to give them a catechism lesson on humility – about being ready to serve and taking up the Cross as an essential dimension of Christian discipleship.

In today’s first reading the Apostle Paul highlights how both Jews and Greeks see the Cross as foolish. The Greeks seek wisdom. Wisdom for them represented perfect balance and symmetry. The blood, sweat and tears they saw on the Cross was for them the ultimate in indignity and imperfection. The kind of perfection, symmetry and balance they seek can only be found in Greek statues, art and architecture. Life is not like that and most, if not all of us, are asymmetrical to some extent. What for them represented the imperfection of brokenness, represents for the believer the perfection of love. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another (John 15:13).

The Jews look for miracles (1 Corinthians 1:22) but when the miracles were worked before their eyes they said it came from Beelzebul (Matthew 12:14). In today’s world we too look for miracles and for instant gratification. Many consider the accumulation of commodities as a sign of blessing. Like the Philippians of old many “behave like enemies of Christ’s cross” (Philippians 3:18). And even where the Cross is not openly condemned, it certainly has become watered down. 

We have glamorised the Cross beyond recognition. That kind one can easily find in the jewellery stores around town, but the values of the Cross which give authentic witness to genuine faith can be seen in those who can indeed make sacrifices for others. The Cross represents forgiveness, sharing, caring, loving, selflessness and all the values which Jesus lived. Self-absorption of any kind, bitterness and hatred contradict authentic Christian witness. So, while many around us look for miracles and self-made wisdom we live and preach “a crucified Christ … a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). We adore you O Christ and we praise you – because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. 

Let us pray: Father, through the abasement of your Son you have shown us what true greatness and true love are all about. Help us to live out the values of Jesus so that the Cross and its consequent holiness may be real in our own lives. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

[Blessing].

Bishop Sylvester David OMI

VG: Archdiocese of Cape Town

The 2020 Chrism Mass was celebrated on Thursday 27 August 2020 at St Martin de Porres, Lavistown by Archbishop Stephen Brislin. This Mass is in place of the Mass of the Oils that is usually celebrated on Holy Thursday, but had to be postponed because of the national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 26 August 2020, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Greetings and welcome once again. When Jesus encountered his disciples after his Resurrection, he greeted them with the words “peace be with you”. We perhaps miss the full import of those beautiful words which expresses his desire we should be at peace within ourselves, at peace with others and at peace with God. And so I wish you all “peace” – peace with your family and friends, peace with those you don’t get on with, peace with God and peace within yourself. In today’s Gospel from St Matthew (Matt 23:27-32) we hear Jesus speaking to the scribes and Pharisees:

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also appear righteous to all men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we live among so many contradictions in our lives and in the world, and often we do not know the right thing to do or the path to take. Pour your grace into our hearts, Lord, to remove all hypocrisy from them that we may be as honest as we can with ourselves, with others and with you ,that we may always be sincere in our relationships and seek to live by the truth. We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.

To some extent we are all hypocrites. The image we present, or the mask we wear, does not always represent what is within ourselves. Often that is not intentional, and often it is not harmful or even deceitful. But it can become so, particularly if someone is not committed to developing the virtues of truth and honesty. Honesty and truth, while connected, are not the same thing. There are various perspectives on the difference between the two. My own understanding is that you cannot be honest without truth, whereas you could be truthful without being honest. While there is absolute truth – God is Truth – the finite nature of human experience cannot come to grips with the fullness of truth. It is, as St Paul said, “looking through a glass darkly” (1Cor 123:12). That  is why, when people witness the same event such as a car accident, there will be variations in their description. It is not intentional deceit as their accounts vary according to where they were standing, what caught their attention and their interpretation of what happened. It is also possible to tell the truth about events without necessarily encompassing all the truth.

Honesty is what exists within a person, and is the decision or commitment to see himself/herself as they really are, without rose coloured spectacles. It incorporates sincerity and the desire for objective truth and for the whole truth. Furthermore, it is the determination to be just in all things and to be true to one’s beliefs in practice. No more whitewashed tombs hiding decaying bones, to use the analogy of Jesus in the Gosple. Primarily, honesty is the realistic assessment of self and the attempt to bring one’s thoughts, words and actions into harmony, so that they are at peace with each other. Sometimes we hear people say: But I was just being honest when I said that about him! In such cases, our claim to honesty could be just a cover up for rudeness –  honesty also involves tolerance and humility.

For any Christian it is crucially important to grow in honesty, in order that we may be truthful in all things. But it cannot remain at a personal, individual level. Here in South Africa, we have been scandalized and outraged by the alleged corruption and the misuse of funds meant for the health of people during this time of coronavirus. We must be outraged. Such dishonesty affects the lives of people who are already suffering bitterly. Christianity strives not only for personal honesty but to promote an honest society. Human dignity in itself demands honest civil leaders, honest priests and bishops, honest captains of industry and commerce. There is no ideology involved here, it is about the common good, and for that reason through our own honesty we must call others to honesty.

Let us now pray for God’s blessing:

The Lord be with you                                                                              R/ And with your spirit

Graciously enlighten your family, O Lord, we pray, that by holding fast to what is pleasing to you, they may be worthy to accomplish all that is good. We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, amen.

And may almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. 

Today Archbishop Stephen Brislin celebrated a live-streamed Sunday Mass at Corpus Christi, Wynberg. We post the recorded version for you here below. They are also viewable on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.

“Ngaye uKristo, sikanye naye, sikuye …” This is how the Eucharistic Prayer ends leading to the proclamation of the Great Amen at Mass each day. We say these words often, and even know them by heart but what do they really mean? 

For me this formula expresses a deep relational reality and shows our intimacy with Christ. Today in our celebration of Mary, Queen and Mother we realise that we can get to know Mary through Christ as he is the first of many brothers (Rom 8:29) – and the Mother of our brother is also our Mother. That is why the giving of his Mother to be the Mother of the disciple Jesus loved makes perfect sense (Jn 19:26-27). 

What did Jesus feel when he looked down from his cross? He would have seen a motherless world filled with orphans and then with his last breath, he established a mother-child relationship. This relationship is a two edged sword because just as we can get to know Mary through her Son, through Mary we can get to know Jesus. Who else knew more about the mystery of the incarnation than Mary? How did she interpret his words? What did she feel when she stood beneath the cross? What did her maternal heart feel when she attended Eucharist and heard these words: “whenever you do this, do it in remembrance of me”? Surely she would have said: “In remembrance of him – how could I ever forget him?” That is what this relationship is all about – Mary’s unforgettable son.

Bishop Sylvester David OMI
VG: Archdiocese of Cape Town