Ministries Day homily by Archbishop Brislin

Homily by Archbishop Stephen Brislin at the Centre for Pastoral Development Ministries Day at Our Lady Help of Christians, Lansdowne on 18 January 2020

Archbishop thanks each person in ministry in the Archdiocese – Service to the Church.

Many gifts have been given to us. St Paul 1 Cor 12
“There are different kinds of gifts,but always the same Spirit”
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”. (v7)
Gifts are given to us for others …to build the Church, for unity, to help people focus on Christ and not on ourselves.

This demandshumility, respect, and faith. We must avoid anything that may distract people from God, or cause scandal.

Whatever our ministry is, we must try to do it as best as we possibly can,according to the mind of the Church: it is not my ministry, it belongs to the Church and is for the Church.

We are privileged to be able to exercise a ministry. It is a privilege, not aright. It is a responsibility entrusted to me by God to lead others to God. It is not about me!

We must never lose sight of the fact that it is a tremendous privilege to serve.

We do not exercise our ministry in isolation, but in co-operation, collaboration and unity with other ministries. St Paul in 1 Cor 12 after talking about the variety of gifts, talks about the ONE body with many members.

Each has its roles and functions; we must not intrude on each other, (the eye is not the foot). We are called to respect each other’s roles and functions as given by the Church. The sense of belonging together is essential…the ear does not say “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body” (v 16.)

We all belong. The key to unity in ministry is:
-to ensure that our ministry is an expression of our faith in God
– to ensure that our ministry is an expression of our love for the Church
– to ensure that our ministry is rooted in integrating the Word, Scripture into our lives, (not just a human endeavour).
-to respect the ministries of others and not to interfere or transgress boundaries.

For the gifts to flourish and for ministry to work for the “common good”, for unity- there needs to be order.Not just a free for all. Part of the role of the priest is to ensure order.He is to oversee the community to ensure there is give and take, part of which is to ensure that ministry is understood in it’s correct context ofserviceto God and the community, respectfulof other ministries, Christfocussed and instruments of unity. That is why he is appointed to a Parish, not only to celebrate Mass and Sacraments, attend meetings and visit the sick. Everyminister should work in co-operation withthe Parish Priest.

In talking of integrating the Word into our lives as a foundation for ministry we face a particular and dangerous tendency to allow all inhibitions to go out of the window on Social Media- criticizing Pope Francis and others. We must be very careful of what we say on social media.

We need to show honour to each other in what we say.
We can be candid but do so with respect and love
We must watch our words and don’t be too quick to send out messages on social media.
Beware of accusing anyone. Even Jesus was accused in his time – of blasphemy, subverting tradition, transgressing the law & demonic possession.

DO WE CHRISTIANS HAVE THE COURAGE TO PUT THE WORD OF GOD INTO PRACTICE WHEN IT COMES TO HOW WE USE WORDS.

This is what the Archbishop expects of those in ministry

– please do not scandalize
-don’t use words quickly, don’t accuse, watch how you use social media.
-understand your ministry as a privilege,respectthe role of other ministers
-do the best you can to exercise your ministry well to strengthen the faith of others, to work in unity.
-be prayerful, examine yourself, consciously make the effort to integrate the Word into your life
-love God and love the Church.

WARNING: Con Artist

It has been reported on a number of occasions (since November 2019) that a man is going around to parishes and church institutions with the purposes of soliciting money from them.

He is young, of portly build, and goes by different names. He appears to be quite familiar with, or knows a lot about the parish he approaches, i.e. names of parish staff members and ministers in the parish. He also appears to be quite familiar with the clergy he has already approached, convincing them that they know him, but don’t recognise him.

Some of the stories reported so far in order to solicit money have been: regarding a job in East London; that his brother has committed suicide; and that his mother had passed away and the funeral is in Bloemfontein.

This man is very cunning and has already conned a number priests. He appears to be quite gentle, but could be very dangerous. Should he make contact with you, please contact Fr Mark Foster on 021 705 1506 or markfoster1@mweb.co.za

PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND DON’T GIVE HIM ANYTHING!

CWD Buckets of Love

Volunteers were hard at work to make sure that those less fortunate had something to celebrate over the Christmas Season. Here are some pictures of the CWD campaign in motion.

Dominique Yon appointed to the Vatican International Youth Advisory Body

On Sunday 24th November 2019, the Feast of Christ the King, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life established an International Youth Advisory Body. 20 young people from around the globe were chosen to be part of the body.

Ms Dominique Yon, the assistant to the Youth Chaplain in the Archdiocese of Cape Town, is one of the appointed youth members forming the special body.

Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) would like to congratulate Dominique for her appointment. We also would like to congratulate her for her unreserved commitment in bringing the Gospel to the the youth of Southern Africa, especially in the Archdiocese of Cape Town.

Let us remember in our prayers, Dominique and other young people who will resume their responsibilities in the new role they to which they have been entrusted by the Church.

For more about Dominique Yon kindly contact her on Domyon@yahoo.com or Fr Paul Tatu CSS

By Fr Paul Tatu CSS (SACBC Communication and Media) – 012 323 6458, E-mail: ptatu@sacbc.org.za

Episcopal Ordination

The Episcopal Ordination of the Auxiliary Bishop of Cape Town Bishop Sylvester David OMI was live-streamed on Sunday 25 August 2019. Here is a recording of the event:

Cape Town [exposed] beyond the beaches

A new documentary short film produced by the Jesuit Institute South Africa provides an 8-minute snapshot into another side of life in Cape Town — other than the tourist beaches and the opulent hotels. The township of Nyanga is notorious for being the area with the highest number of reported murders in the country. Katleho Khang SNJM and Ricardo da Silva SJ visited the community for a week and discovered that amid the violence there is also great hope.

In the past calendar year, 308 murders were reported in the crime-infested Western Cape township of Nyanga, South Africa. This startling revelation is according to the 2017/18 national crime statistics.

For its latest short documentary film project, the media team at Jesuit Institute South Africa in collaboration with the Society of Jesus in South Africa (Jesuits), visited Nyanga for a week to shoot an 8-minute snapshot of daily life. This palisade-fenced area of the province encloses people as though they were caged zoo animals, a local Catholic priest said.

Cape Town exposed beyond the beaches (2019), reveals the despicable reality of the crime and desperation lived in Nyanga. In stark contrast to the Cape Town known to many — as a tourist’s paradise — we wanted to highlight the inequality and the multitude of problems faced by its people.

The fatalities in the township are numbing and, crudely understood, mean that a life is lost here almost every day of the year. This revelation alone should bring politicians and our national government to act definitely and with haste. Sadly, it appears little is being done. The latest statistics reveal an upward trend in criminal activity in the region of almost 10% — especially in sexually-related offences and murder.

Rampeoane Hlobo SJ, Jesuit parish priest at St Mary’s, the local Catholic Church in Nyanga, confessed that “if one tries to abide by the law, one may just end up being a victim and a crime statistic as well. The problem is not that people do not want to obey the law but that those who do not want to obey the law terrorise the rest of the community and there are no policing and law enforcement agencies to protect law-abiding community members who want the rule of law. Consequently, lawlessness flourishes and reigns.”

Almost a quarter of those who live in Nyanga are between the ages of 15 and 24, making young people in the area perhaps the most susceptible to crime. In many cases, it is these very young people who are the perpetrators of such odious crimes, making it difficult to escape “the cycle of poverty, violence and death”, said Matsepane Morare SJ, the former Catholic priest at St Mary’s. But, Hlobo says, “the Church becomes a necessary and indispensable haven, not least for its young community members. We find ourselves journeying in solidarity with the people of Nyanga, the murder capital of South Africa and giving hope to many, especially the young”, he said.

But that’s not the whole story.

Beyond the blood-splatter and filth-lined streets, there is an incredible joy and a hope among those who live there. It was encouraging to see young children playing in the parks, albeit accompanied by their parents for fear that they may be kidnapped or enticed into a life of crime by local gang lords. Nyanga residents also braai openly on the streets, sharing their food generously with one another, amid township song and sips of the finest brew from the local shebeen.

The sense of community is undeniable. We met with a group of mothers at St Mary’s Catholic Church. They come together to support each other through the grief and pain of losing their children to gang violence. I beheld their sense of hope, even amid the turmoil and senseless violence. One student we interviewed at the Church said: “No one pays attention to us”, but her warm smile showed that she held no grudge or contempt.

How to live a Happy life – Winter Living Theology 2019

The Jesuit Institute in collaboration with the SACBC Bishops’ Lenten Appeal and Fordham University invite you to join them in this year’s Winter Living Theology.

The lecture series will be presented by Father David Marcotte SJ, professor of psychology and associate director of clinical training at Fordham University in New York. He will look at stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, compassion-fatigue, suicide and addiction – offering participants practical skills that will counter these and advance well-being. He believes that meditation and contemplative practices are an essential part of well-being and has done empirical studies, which he will share with participants.

This will beheld at St Francis Xavier Seminary in Athlone. From June 11 – 13 – from 0930 – 1530.

Cost will be R1100.00 for the three days including lunch. There is also accommodation available at the seminary.

For more information and booking: www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/wit2019 <http://www.jesuitinstitute.org.za/wit2019> or contact them at 011 482 4237, or send an email to wit@jesuitinstitute.org.za

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The Closure of CWD

Public statements on the closure of CWD have at various times been published in the News section of our website. For convenience these have now been collated historically on this page.

11 April 2019

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7 March 2019

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7 March 2019

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7 March 2019

Cape Talk Radio interview with Archbishop Stephen Brislin

5 December 2018

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31 October 2018

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