Below are some pictures taken at the Winter Living Theology lectures at Schoenstatt, Cape Town, with Prof. Al Gini. Click on image to enlarge.
Below are pictures taken at the Archdiocesan Catholic Health Care Association (ACHCA) meeting on 10 May 2014 at Nazareth House, Cape Town. Submitted by the association’s chaplain, Mgr Jock Baird.
by Frances Correia
Fundamental to our Christian life is the reality that God is both interested in, and actively involved in, our lives. Jesus came to tell us about God’s dream for the world: a dream that Jesus called ‘the kingdom of God’. Our human task is to collaborate with the Holy Spirit to bring about this kingdom of God. Every time we pray the ‘Our Father’ we are asking God to ‘let your Kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth’.
This is not a yearning for heaven, for some other reality; it is a yearning for our lives and for our reality to be transformed. If we really want that prayer to be true, ‘let Your kingdom come’ we are personally challenged to choose to be different.
Paul, when he writes of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, says we can know the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we sense an increase in 9 named areas: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). To collaborate with the Holy Spirit means that I should choose nourish these fruits of the Holy Spirit in myself.
All of us have probably at some point or other imagined how we would react in an extraordinary situation, calling for great leadership or sacrifice. One of the hardest lessons of the spiritual life is that every day I am in ordinary situations calling for me to act with Christ-like love. But mostly I don’t notice the situations; mostly I am so focused on my own narrow world-view that I miss the opportunities in front of me.
Jesus’ call to help build the kingdom of God can seem a big idea: one that belongs in the arena of great statesmen, like Nelson Mandela or Ghandi. But I think that Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit offers us a simple practical way of responding to Jesus’ invitation that we can all engage with. We all know of opportunities when we could be generous, or self –controlled, or any other of the 9 gifts.
We are called to proactively nurture the fruits of the Spirit in our own lives. By doing this we are responding to Jesus’ invitation to build the kingdom of God here on earth.
For me the discipline that helps most is of thinking back over each day and noticing where I see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in my life – and also where I see the opposite. To change, to actively work for God’s kingdom, requires first that I am aware of how I am living. Then I need a sense of gratitude for where I have responded to God’s love, and of sorrow for those moments when I failed to respond. Finally, I should desire to be different and to ask God for grace to help me to choose to be more loving, more generous, patient or faithful tomorrow. When I do this I am aware of a sense of working with God. It is then that I choose to allow ordinary situations to become extraordinary moments of collaborating with God’s grace in building God’s kingdom.
If you want a weekly article like this for your parish bulletin click here and we will send it to you earlier in the week in time for publication. For more Jesuit Institute perspective go towww.jesuitinstitute.org.za.
No. 2 of 2014
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Pray for your deacons. Download, and print the pdf (through Adobe Acrobat Reader), and insert in your daily missal or prayer book.
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Announcing a new season of Ecclesia
This Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2014, the Church marks the 51st World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The Holy Father has released a Message on the theme ‘Vocations, Witness to the Truth’, which is available on the Vatican website. In his Message, Pope Francis states: ‘God follows the work of his hands with passion and skill in every phase of life. He never abandons us! He has the fulfilment of his plan for us at heart, and yet he wishes to achieve it with our consent and co-operation.’
Click here to read the Holy Father’s Message
To mark this special occasion we would like to invite you to say the following prayer with your families for nine consecutive days commencing Monday 12 May.
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Loving and generous God,
it is you who call us by name
and ask us to follow you.
Help us to grow in the love
and service of our Church
as we experience it today.
Give us the energy and courage
of your Spirit
to shape its future.
Grant us faith-filled leaders
who will embrace Christ’s mission
of love and justice.
Bless our Church
by raising up dedicated and generous leaders
from our families and friends
who will serve your people as Sisters,
Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Lay Ministers.
Inspire us to know you better
and open our hearts
to hear your call.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Joint Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of the SACBC (Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference) and Leadership Conference on Consecrated Life
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How to cast your vote – based on Catholic Social Teaching – a guide to making moral choices
Brought to you by the Justice & Peace Commission – Research by the the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office
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Co-ordinated by the Jesuit Institute
Al Gini
A three-day course for priests, religious and interested lay people to explore the philosophy and theology of leadership.
Today, 20 years after liberation, in the aftermath of the death of Nelson Mandela, and in the wake of the 2014 elections, South Africans are still asking about the nature of leadership in our country. We have therefore invited one of the world’s most renowned (and entertaining) speakers on this subject to explore the philosophy and theology of leadership in our societies today.
Al Gini is a Professor of Business Ethics who has lectured extensively around the world and been an adviser to multinational corporations and to NGOs. For 45 years he has been teaching at Loyola, the Jesuit University in Chicago, where he is currently Chair of the Department of Management in the School of Business Administration. He is the co-founder and long-time Associate Editor of Business Ethics Quarterly, the journal of the Society for Business Ethics. For over twenty-five years he has been the Resident Philosopher on National Public Radio in Chicago and has met many of that city’s famous products – Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan! He regularly lectures to community and professional organizations on issues of business and ethics.
He has been visiting South Africa for 16 years and is an honorary citizen. When he was last in South Africa he gave lectures at a variety of business schools and also met with senior individuals in business, Church and government to explore ethical issues in South Africa today.
Topics:
1. “Pope Francis: Moral Leadership and Business Ethics”
2. “10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders”
3. “Leadership: Why We Love It, Why We Hate It”
4. “Misleaders/Bad Leaders”
5. “Character and Leadership”
6. “Moral Leadership and Public Ethics
7. “Why It’s Hard To Be Good”
Al Gini’s books include:
10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders (Wiley+Blackwell, 2013)
My Job My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual (Routledge, 2000)
The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure and Vacations (Routledge, 2003)
Why It’s Hard to Be Good (Routledge, 2006)
God Can Quote Me on That: Quotations on the Meaning of Life (ACTA, 2011)
Seeking the Truth of Things (ACTA, 2010)
The Ethics of Business with Alexei Marcoux (Rowan & Littlefield, 2012)