Eat and Be Formed

by Gunther Simmermacher · Published October 24, 2022 · Updated October 23, 2022

Dear Reader,

The Book of Ecclesiastes advises: “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do” (9:7-8). So it’s not surprising that Grazia Barletta’s monthly “Cooking with Saints” column is a firm favourite with many readers. This month we feature Grazia on our cover, holding what could be described as an edible Advent wreath — a salad, which is just the right kind of food for our summer climate.

On the page adjacent to Grazia’s recipe and handy tips for the kitchen, we prepare for Advent, which this year begins on November 27, with a brief history of the Advent wreath and a guide to blessing one in your home. We shall have more on Advent in our special Christmas issue next month.

In less than a year, the Synod on Synodality will be held in the Vatican. By then the Church will have prepared for this momentous gathering for two years. The important diocesan phase, in which the laity and clergy had their say, has been completed, and the summaries have been finalised and sent to Rome.

Like many other regions, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has released its report to the public. It is candid and notes that the diocesan consultation has issued many challenges which our local Church must deal with. Among the most urgent of these is that of the relationship between priests and parishioners.

The report — the most salient parts are reproduced with minimal editing in this issue — mentions grievances about some priests “who make their own rules and push their own agendas”, among other things. This obviously does not apply to all priests, most of whom do the best they can to serve the People of God. However, there clearly are also instances of abuses of power and even lapses in conduct among members of the clergy.

Conversely, in some parishes, priests struggle to find enough lay people to share in the responsibilities of running the parish.

Some parishioners report the experience of existing parish structures and processes being dismantled by a new priest, potentially undoing years of building up such structures. Of course, new ideas and impulses can improve things, and sometimes old structures and processes need overhauling. But this should not be imposed unilaterally by a priest who, after all, usually is a transient presence in the parish, appointed to serve a permanent community. It would seem that new ways of managing parishes need to be developed.

Another prominent concern raised in the synodal consultation was that of formation. This is a vague term which can be interpreted variously. But at its heart, good formation means that Catholics know and understand their faith. Some Catholics take their own formation seriously, for example by joining Bible study groups, taking courses, or reading Catholic books and publications. Most Catholics, however, receive their formation once a week from homilies at Mass. That simply cannot suffice, even when the preaching is good. Poor formation leads to poor catechesis at home, and that can lead to a weakened faith and perhaps even a rejection of it within the family (which, of course, can also happen even despite good catechesis).

How do we, as the Church, bring formation to the people? One very obvious way is by promoting Catholic media: books, magazines (such as the one you are reading right now), radio, podcasts, social media (though one has to be discerning in separating the good from the bad). It can be said that the widespread apathy of South African Catholics in making use of the available means of social communications is a failure in formation itself. As the Church builds on the insights gathered in the synodal process, addressing this failure should be an absolute priority. And this must happen at every level of the Church: nationally through the bishops’ conference, in the dioceses and in the parishes.

Thank you for reading The Southern Cross, and please tell your friends about your monthly Catholic magazine.

God bless,
Günther Simmermacher
(Editor)