Skop, Skiet and Saints

Dear Reader,

On May 11, the Church will observe the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The primary focus of this day is our prayerful desire to see young people following God’s call to serve him and his Church in holy orders or the consecrated life. Our prayers for this must be fervent. A vocation serves God, but also the individual. On page 22, a young Sister shares how her vocation has brought balance to her life.

However, the Church is not just the clergy and religious. On page 24, Antoinette Padua describes how she found her way to the lesser-known vocation of a consecrated virgin — one lives who in the world, not in a religious community. There are many ways to serve and honour God.

The Synod on Synodality confirmed that all the faithful have a role to play in the Church — in decision-making and also in service. This is not a newfangled idea from Vatican II or the Synod; it goes back to the very roots of the Church. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St Paul emphasised that everyone has talents and a calling to use them for God and his people.

“There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody, it is the same God who is at work in them all. The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good,” St Paul writes, before listing various gifts — both spiritual and practical — all from God and intended for his glory (1 Corinthians 12:6-11).

So when we have said our prayers for vocations, St Paul calls us to search within ourselves: What talents has God given me, and how can I use them to serve him, his people and his Church?

Celebs vs the saints

In his column this month, Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI observes that the cult of celebrity has displaced devotion to the saints, even among Catholics. Of course, it is true that many Christians — even some from our own Church — abandon even Christ’s direct teachings in the Gospels in favour of the promises of politicians, particularly in an age when celebrities successfully leverage their fame into political power.

Our “Saint of the Month” series aims to help revive devotion to the saints. We have seen our monthly posters displayed in schools, parish halls, and in a seminary too. Some readers have even framed the posters of their favourite saints.

We hope that the stories we tell of these holy men and women — doing so without the sentimental embellishments of many traditional hagiographies — inspire our readers. Perhaps these stories may also serve as useful resources in catechetical instruction.

This month’s saint, St Peregrine Laziosi, may not be the most famous among the illustrious company of canonised saints, at least in Southern Africa. However, his journey from militant anti-Catholicism to sainthood should inspire us. As the patron of cancer and HIV/Aids sufferers, he is also a saint to whom many people in our region have recourse.

St Peregrine once assaulted another future saint. Likewise, in our feature on the First Council of Nicaea — convened 1700 years ago this month — we read that St Nicholas of Myra, the prototype for Santa Claus, punched the heretic Arius in the face. So, this could be described as our “Skop, Skiet and Saints” issue!

Slices of history

The Council of Nicaea in 325 was a big turning point for the Church, perhaps the most significant after apostolic times. Even today we still say the Creed which was initiated at that council. Also read Raymond Perrier’s reflection on the intersection between Church and politics.

Another slice of history in this issue concerns Bishop David O’Leary OMI, who 100 years ago became the first South African-born bishop. One bit of information struck me as remarkable: the father of a locally-born bishop fought in the US Civil War of 1861-65!

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

God bless,
Günther Simmermacher (Editor)