Issue 04 - The Pilgrim - April 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

More documents

Info

Features The Pilgrim April 2012 Priests feeling at home in Southwark Over 50 priests working in the Archdiocese of Southwark come from Africa and India. Bishop Pat Lynch says adapting to life in another country is not easy. A few weeks ago along with Fr Shaju Varkey and Fr Paul Mason I helped to facilitate a meeting for 20 priests from overseas who are at present working in the Archdiocese of Southwark. The priests came from Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania and from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Goa. During the meeting they shared very openly and honestly regarding their hopes and aspirations but also their struggles adapting to a different climate, a different culture and often a different way of being Church. As part of the discussion I used the images developed by Fr Stephan Bevans, a well-known writer on the theology of mission, to reflect on the experience of many missionaries when they arrive in another country. In the beginning the missionary usually feels like a stranger, as they adapt to a new situation and a different environment. But very quickly that gives way to feeling more like a guest, as they experience the warmth and welcome of the host community – the clergy, religious and laity. As time goes by and the more at home the missionary feels in their new environment, the image of a companion begins to encapsulate not only how they feel but also how they relate to others. Finally, when the missionary is ready not just to preach the comforting message of the Gospel but to proclaim the challenging message of the Gospel as well, the image of a prophet is appropriate. In the story of the journey to Emmaus in Luke’s Gospel Jesus is first seen as a stranger by the two disciples on the road but then after listening attentively to their story he prophetically proclaims and explains the Scriptures. Finally, he shares a meal with them first as an invited guest only to become a companion at the breaking of the bread. In Luke’s inspiring story we see how the two disciples are completely changed as they come to see who Jesus really is He is the Risen Lord who is with them always not just as a stranger or indeed a guest but truly a companion and a prophet. There are many ongoing challenges for the priest, religious or lay person who serves the Church in another land. They have to understand a new language, live in a new climate, come to terms with a new culture, feel at home and become integrated into a new diocese. We are, therefore, very grateful for all the priests and religious from overseas who serve in our diocese. Thank you for the sacrifice you make, thank you for the service you give and thank you for the gifts you bring. Your presence reminds us that we are indeed a truly Catholic Church. Why you don’t have to be perfect By John Pridmore I used to think I had to be perfect. I remember soon after breaking away from the criminal underworld and accepting God into my life, I hardly spoke a word to anyone for a whole week, because I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. When my stepfather asked me why I was so quiet, and I told him why, he said, “God made you as a happy go lucky cockney. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Just be who you are.” I’ve never forgotten his words. Each one of us is loved by God, no matter what we might have done or not done. God knows you inside out and he’s the one person who accepts you and rejoices in you. His love is unconditional. Yet many of us can’t accept this, because of the distorted image of God we carry around inside ourselves. But if open ourselves up to God and allow his grace to work in our lives, we begin to change. Yet we need to remember that change doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t have to be perfect, because you can never become perfect. We will always fall short. We are all broken. And we all have a tendency to do the things we don’t really want to do and to rebel. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need redemption and Page 8 forgiveness. Each one of us is broken. We are not who we are meant to be. Because of this, we all end up hurting others and hurting ourselves. I often think our heart is like a window. On one side is God’s love, pouring down every minute of the day and on the other side is the stain of the things we have done and are ashamed of. Eventually, we can’t see how much we are loved. When we invite God into our lives we begin to be healed and transformed. I know how easy it is to become preoccupied with our struggles and our selfishness. I have to keep on giving my struggles to God. When we fall, whether it’s through greed, lust, pride, or whatever, we need to ask God for healing. But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up. I’ve learned that if I want to be truly intimate with God, then the only way that can happen is if I’m vulnerable. That means really sharing with him what is going on in my heart and not trying to hide or disguise my deepest fears but exposing them to him. Never forget that God can use you in your weakness. You might feel unworthy and useless, but God can still do great things through you. It’s in our weaknesses that God uses us. God never asks us to be perfect or good but to try and be perfect and good. It doesn’t matter how many times we fall. What’s important is that we get up each time when we do. God will never refuse even the worst person in the world, if you say you’re sorry. St Therese of Lisieux once said that if she woke up one morning and found she’d committed all the sins it was possible to commit, they would all be as a single drip of water falling into the mouth of a live volcano, which would be God’s mercy. In the Bible Jesus tells the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not grasping, adulterous, and unjust. He added that he fasted twice a week and paid his tithes. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, prayed simply, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Like the tax collector, each one of us has a dark side, things that we are ashamed of, things we’ve done that make us feel we are unlovable. When we feel burdened by this we need to remember this: God loves us because of what we do but because of who He is. To grow spiritually we have to be honest with God and tell him the things that we’re sorry for, the things we’re pleased with, the things that are good in our life and also the things that are bad in our life. And as my stepfather said, we should be who we are.
Features The Pilgrim April 2012 Bookcase My favourite book Bridget Whitaker, a retired secretarial studies teacher, and a parishioner of St Anselm’s Dartford, chooses The Shack by William Paul Young, first published in 2007. The Shack is a gripping story about child abduction and the effect on all concerned, particularly the father. It is written in an easy-toread, page-turning style, although it does contain some very thoughtprovoking theology. I found I read through it quickly to see what happened, and then went back more slowly to absorb this theology. In fact I have gone back and re-read some bits several times. I won’t spoil the book for anyone who may read it by revealing the details of the plot, or the outcome. Suffice it to say that it confronts head-on the problems of evil and suffering and where God is in all of this, and of forgiveness. And it also challenges preconceived notions about God. I resonated with the theology, and found the arguments presented convincing. The Shack has made me more aware of the surprising and amazing ways in which God works, and has deeply affected my prayer life. Book review . What good is God: On the Road with Stories of grace In his latest book What Good is God: On the Road with Stories of Grace he brings together what he calls stories of grace from people he has met on his travels in the US, China, South Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. He says that the question “What good is God” occurs in some form in every person who experiences pain or death or poverty or unfairness. “In my interviews with addicts and prostitutes I heard several dozen wrenching accounts of the power of evil to control and destroy lives – and the power of God to overcome that evil.” Many of those struggling with addictions think that they wouldn’t be welcome in church, he argues. He admits that so often he leaves a church with an empty feeling because reality has been covered with a veneer of respectability. “What have we done that we communicate church as a place for well people rather than a place to get well” he asks. Once again Yancey has produced a book that takes an honest approach to faith and one that finds God working beneath the surface and in unexpected places. What Good is God: On the Road with Stories of Grace by Philip Yancey, Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99. The story of Lourdes told through stained glass Eleanor Bird, who has been commissioned by Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust (HCPT) to produce a window for Hosanna House near Lourdes, explains how stained glass can tell stories. “People seem to have an instant reaction to coloured light coming through the stained glass windows, which could be referred to as spiritually uplifting, “ says stained glass artist Eleanor Bird. Eleanor, who lives in Bristol, is working on a stained glass window for the chapel in Hosanna House, HCPT’s retreat centre in the village of Barthes, just outside Lourdes. Her commission came about after designing a window for the refurbished headquarters of Missio, formerly the Pontifical Missionary Society, in Victoria. Before beginning work on the window, she visited Lourdes to help her decide how to go about creating an image that would capture the message of the shrine. “I was lucky to travel to Lourdes with some of the HCPT trustees, who are seasoned pilgrims and have helped people experience the joy of the grotto where Our Lady was seen by St Bernadette and the healing waters of Lourdes. “I really got a sense from them of the spirit of a pilgrimage to Lourdes – the friendships that are created and the inspiration that it gives to people who visit. “During my visit I felt a great sense of the friendship and healing that a pilgrimage at Hosanna House offers the visitor. I wondered how I could depict this feeling through the resurrection theme in designs for new stained glass,” she says. The answer came through a conversation she had with a Sacred silver exhibition at the V&A The Victoria and Albert Museum is staging a exhibition of sacred silver. Angels and Saints: Four Masterpieces of Sacred Silver from the Gilbert Collection 2 April 2012 – 31 May 2013 monk from Caldey Island, who suggested the story of Mary Magdalene meeting the Risen Christ. “This story reminded me of their lasting friendship and how the healing process can be spiritual as well as physical. Jesus tells Mary to ‘let go’ of Him, and tell the disciples what she has seen. “This positive action of letting go and moving on is sometimes what the soul requires to begin to heal. Sacred Silver, Room 83 Free admission Antwerp was the proud centre of arts and commerce in the catholic southern Low Countries, now Belgium, during the 17th and 18th centuries, and home to internationally famous masters like Peter Paul Rubens. This display shows the exquisite craftsmanship and sense of beauty of Antwerp makers from the Baroque to the Neo-classical. The chalice and ciboria show the ability of their creators to represent religious beliefs on small objects that were meant for use in church. The group is part of the Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Sir Arthur Gilbert (1913-2001) admired the crafted beauty and rich symbolism of sacred silver. Angels and Saints: Four Masterpieces of Sacred Silver from the Gilbert Collection 2 April 2012 – 31 May 2013 Sacred Silver, Room 83 Free admission She chose to depict Mary surrounded by Lilly of the Valley, whose drooping tear shape flowers represent her sadness. Behind the flowers are pomegranate trees, which are often depicted along side the image of Christ. “Traditionally a split pomegranate is a symbol of the suffering and resurrection of Christ. One of these can be found just below Mary’s foot,” she explains. Eleanor says she can trace her fascination with stained glass back to the church she attended during her childhood in Pinner, north-west London. “The church was simply decorated. I remember the stained glass windows depicting Christ with a Lamb and Florence Nightingale. “I think what has stayed with me was their ability to tell a story through the details in the window. Such as Christ with the Lamb; symbolic of both His sacrifice and care for us as His flock.” After school, Eleanor went to study for a degree in public art at Chelsea College of Art and Design and then a masters in glass at the University of Sunderland. “I find that I have become very interested in the way stained glass can be used to create narrative; telling stories through timeless images,” she says. “The thing about glass is that it lets light through rather than reflecting it. With a canvas I would apply the colour through paint. “With glass, colour comes in the sheet of glass, which I cut according to the design. I then cover the coloured glass with a black paint, which I brush away until the right amount of light is coming through. “Imagine a frosty window, then imagine using your fingers to create a smiley face. That’s pretty much what I do with paint. The paint creates shape and depth of image. “Once I’m happy with what I’ve painted I then fabricate the windows using long, thin lengths of lead that I can wrap to shape around the pieces of glass. “These are soldered into place and the whole window has cement rubbed into the gaps between the lead and the glass to make it watertight. I then say a few prayers and hope it fits! Page 10
Page 1 and 2: Faith after midnight Page 6-7 You d
Page 3 and 4: The Pilgrim April 2012 News How we
Page 5 and 6: The Pilgrim April 2012 Features The
Page 7: The Pilgrim April 2012 Behind the s
Page 11 and 12: The Pilgrim April 2012 Feature Scho

Issue 04 - The Pilgrim - April 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?