In case you missed this significant post.

The posting for the First Friday had a limited number of visitors, not yet reaching 100 (an ordinary minimum number at the end of each day) – there was an important statement about our Superior General. We are highlighting it again (for the complete article and critique, scroll down the Current News page to First Friday May):

From a Central American article on the Quiche Beatification ceremony: “What should we do with salt that has become tasteless? Ramazzini's (officiating at the ceremony) homily was tepid and diplomatic. It was until the end of the mass - since we had been sent to go in peace –

that a priest, Absalón Alvarado, from the Mission of the Sacred Heart (the same one to which the three priests of the ten beatified belonged) transgressed the border and denounced genocide, political violence, current impunity and corruption shielded by broad pacts of silence and inertia.

The Central American MSC area is alive. Two new provincial superiors.

In Memoriam, Cormac Nagle OFM.

Cormac Nagle, who died suddenly on May 4^th, was a strong Franciscan presence in Australia, Lecturer, Provincial and in his ministry on the OFM General Council.

Many MSC of a certain vintage have memories of him, working with him on the Yarra Theological Union, and students of his Moral Theology courses at the YTU.

This morning, while making his breakfast, Cormac Nagle died.  Cormac was among the last of that first generation of teachers who brought YTU into being.  Having recently returned from Rome and experienced first hand the events of Vatican II, he was ever after touched by its spirit and saw the importance of creating a place such as YTU.  He taught here for decades and his Bioethics course was a part of the life of most students who always knew it fondly as “Monday Night Sex with Cormac”.  As Minister of the Australian Franciscan Province he provided the land and assistance that became Dorish Maru College and the OCD priory later the Heart of Life.  With his own hands he installed YTU’s first phone system and, to the end, he was supervising research students, writing and contributing to Staff Seminars.

His canonical and moral studies gave him a firm and solid insight into how we ought to act, but he tempered that with a Franciscan compassion and sensitivity that always respected the situation of each individual.  Like Francis, he believed he was ‘called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.’  May Cormac, so long part of our story, also now find healing, union and his way home to his loving God.

Cormac was born on 4 December 1932 in Brisbane and was baptised Malcom.  He entered the novitiate of the friars on 17 February 1950, and on 22 February 1954 made his solemn profession as a friar, and was ordained a friar priest in Brisbane on 29 June 1957.  After completing his doctorate in canon law in Rome, Cormac completed a post-doctoral fellowship in moral theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington, USA.  On returning to Australia, Cormac lectured in canon law and moral theology, and was ministering as an ethicist in Catholic healthcare facilities, and advisor to several bishops and others, especially in the areas of canon law and ethics.  He was a formator and was elected to the Provincial Council of the friars.  Then, at the age of 44, he was elected Provincial Minister, and then elected to the General Council of the Order, being based in Rome. 

In 2015, Cormac was awarded Catholic Heath Australia’s highest honour, the Maria Cunningham Lifetime Contribution Award 2015, at the annual Catholic Health Australia Awards held at Parliament House, Canberra.  “A very humble, yet highly accomplished individual, Fr Cormac Nagle’s qualifications are not only impressive, but have seen him travel the globe, giving him a truly international perspective. Fr Cormac also holds a degree in Sabbatical Studies in Bioethics, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, USA” [Catholic Health Australia, Media Release, 2 September 2015].

Heart of Life Open Day at the new venue, Malvern.

Paul Beirne, Director, Brian Gallagher, Founder

Around 40 people, staff, present and past students, friends (plus ten or more, even from the Philippines, participating by Zoom) gathered at the new premises for Heart of Life, the Brigidine centre, Kildara (adjacent to St Joseph’s parish church, Malvern).  It was an opportunity to see how Heart of Life has settled into what is ample accommodation.

Peter Malone, Brian Gallagher, Madeleine Barlow, Frank Andersen, Robyn Reynolds, Philip Malone

Director, Paul Beirne, hosted the event, Susanah Tan catered,

Clare Shearman launched the brochure for the 2021 program.

And Zoom

Brian Gallagher spoke about the heart, contemplative and experience, spirit of Heart of Life.

First Friday, May 2021, Chevalier Family intention – and a challenging critique from Quiche

The Justice and Peace poster highlights awareness, action (with Pope Francis urging on the Curia) and prayer. The following challenge comes from a critique of the Beatification ceremony on April 23^rd – but an affirmation of the words of Abzalon.

When the salt has become insipid, chronicle of a timid and depoliticized beatification

 La Hora Newspaper

 -

May 1, 2021

By Andrés Quezada

How to understand the scant attention that the beatification of ten Catholic martyrs received? Do you remember the excitement that was experienced for the beatification of Brother Pedro? Because the difference? It would be easy to attribute this to the pandemic or to the fact that the Pope came that time. But beyond these contextualities there is an unnamed truth: the complicit silence of those who reserve the devotion of José María, Faustino, Juan Alonso, Rosalío, Miguel, Reyes, Tomás, Nicolás, Domingo and Juanito because perhaps "they were involved in something" .

Who killed them and why? How did they preach the gospel to become dangerous to power? The answer to these questions was absent or timidly elaborated before and during the beatification. This is a critique that sees beyond the beauty of the ritual, the strength of the songs or the joy of being in a wide field celebrating communion with the dead that official history continues to silence.

The night before the event, a musical was presented to narrate the history of the church in Quiché from before the conquest until the day of judgment - where a white god in a white sky meets the blessed in white robes. From the staging, I was struck by the representation of the role of the Church in the invasion; nuns and priests separated the conquerors from the Mayan warriors in a conciliatory attitude that does not fit in with a past in which Sepúlvedas abound and Bartolomés de las Casas is scarce. Then these same actors stripped their ritual objects from the Mayans and forced them close to the cross so that they knelt before the "victorious Christ" exalted in the songs. This interpretation takes us away from the example of one who, far from being well with everyone, sided with the poor, women and nobodies.

On the other hand, if the context and the pastoral and political action for which the martyrs were killed are ignored, what remains is to remember them as sheep caught in the crossfire of the demons of war. Uprising and oppressive peoples are thus tied as equally reprehensible extremes. Although this reading pretends to be a third way of peace, it implies accepting the domination of the strong and the silence of the defeated. It is not worth condemning both “extremes” but to consent to the censures imposed by one and reduce the history of the other to an irrational battle against colonialism or social inequality.

If the martyrs gave their lives, it was for their struggle to continue, not for their death to be fetishized by subtracting the uncomfortable elements that explain it and without assuming the difficult challenge that the past makes us. Walter Benjamin well says that "not even the dead will be safe from the enemy if he wins." What is the use of commemorating if there is no willingness to continue doing what they were murdered for?

To empty the context of his death of political content is to relive his martyrdom and legitimize the path that the church is for rituals and not for the search for justice. What made the Quiché martyrs a threat was that they assumed the kingdom of heaven not as a posthumous and metaphysical promise but as a horizon of practicality and political commitment. If, being able to remain silent and pray, they chose to speak and organize, why does he remain silent when it is celebrated in his name?

What should we do with salt that has become tasteless? Ramazzini's homily was tepid and diplomatic. It was until the end of the mass - since we had been sent to go in peace - that a priest, Absalón Alvarado, from the Mission of the Sacred Heart (the same one to which the three priests of the ten beatified belonged) transgressed the border and denounced genocide, political violence, current impunity and corruption shielded by broad pacts of silence and inertia.

The invitation is to revive a belief that was earlier Christian than Roman, which abandons the criminalizing silence and celebrates the voice of those who do not fear the calumny of the powerful. Historical memory should not be innocuous nostalgia but brave reinvention of the struggles that we owe ourselves. This is a responsibility to pay off those of us who remember the story of a man who dared to question power and was crucified for the honesty and forcefulness of his word.

Woe to you who build mausoleums for the prophets who have been murdered by your own parents! Thus they become witnesses and accomplices of what their parents did; because they killed them and you build the mausoleums. "

Steve Dives MSC, from Deputy at Treand House to Community Leader, Kensington

In case you missed this from the MSC Magazine, here it is for cyberspace security

THANKYOU and FAREWELL

By Meta Jackman, Professional Standards and Safeguarding Office, Treand House

When Fr Steve Dives announced his decision to step-down as Deputy Provincial and take up the role of Superior of the Kensington Monastery, it was a day of mixed emotions for the MSC Professional Standards & Safeguarding Office. 

As Deputy Provincial, Fr Steve was called upon to balance the voices and expectations of victims/survivors of abuse, with the rights of his fellow Priests and Brothers. He also had to turn his attention to what is now referred to as ‘secondary victims/survivors’ including not only family members of victims and perpetrators of abuse, a parish or school community, but also another often-overlooked group, the other MSC Priests and Brothers within the Province whose sense of priesthood, religious life, identity and ministry may have been affected.

While all Treand House staff will miss his calmness, wisdom, sense of humour and genuineness, we know that our loss is a tremendous win for the men at the Kensington Monastery who are very blessed to have him as their new Superior.

Before I leave you with some notable facts about Fr Steve, it is timely to remember that Pope Francis has consistently claimed that Church leaders must take the lead as true shepherds and guardians, to protect the vulnerable out of love for the Gospel, truth and justice. Fr Steve’s leadership in this area has been significant and he undertook the role with integrity, humility, kindness and compassion. Such attributes show his depth of character, and how he is an example of the compassionate heart of Jesus, truly being on earth the heart of God.

When you look back to your time as Deputy Provincial, what achievements are you are most proud of and why?

Establishing the MSC Professional Standards & Safeguarding Office together with setting up the Professional Standards & Safeguarding Advisory Board is something I am most proud of.  After the Royal Commission and its findings, and the complexities involved with managing professional standards matters, it was integral that the Province employ a lay person to manage these matters.

In terms of the Professional Standards & Advisory Board, the members all have such a wealth of experience and knowledge across the areas of litigation, child protection, church governance, education, complaints management and audit that we are really fortunate to have them oversight all the work of the MSC Professional Standards & Safeguarding Office.  There is a professionalism now, we are not “just stumbling along in a very complex area of professional standards matters”, but rather as a result of the Royal Commission and its subsequent findings, there is acknowledgement that we need to ensure that we are accountable and transparent with all that we do and that we now have professional people assisting us to manage such matters and ensure that we have safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

Another achievement I am proud of is setting up the MSC Aged Care Committee to follow on the suggestions from the Chapter, and keeping the Province informed about its members, current news, and health matters etc.

You have been in the role of Superior for a couple of months now, how is it going and what are you hoping to achieve within the community for your men during your term?

Well, it has been heavy going, there has been a lot to do here, and the new model of aged care for the Province is going to make a big difference.

The finances have to be tidied up, and despite getting a subsidy from Coogee we have to try and be as self-sufficient as we can. I want to try and make this an MSC community and not an Aged Care community. I want everyone to feel valued, respected and loved.  I want to try and make it a harmonious community where everyone can be free to make their own decisions, as opposed to a rigid, authoritarian community. 

Most MSC here are retired men who have served the MSC Congregation and Church all their lives and, while they may have less involvement in ministry now, this is their home and one of their main ministries is praying for the Congregation and the Church. It is very valuable work that they can still do.

I am committed to ensuring that our men receive the best care they need in terms of clinical care, personal care, pastoral care and their physical needs. I want them to be able to make their wishes known, while also trying to make the community feel homely and welcoming so that their friends and relatives can visit. I am looking forward to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, so that the men can venture out more, socialise, and that the Kensington community is not seen as just an old, aged care home.  The members here are very conscious of that and see themselves as very much MSC and try to live what it means to be an MSC, and how can they best live it.

How old were you when you joined the MSC?

I joined the MSC in 1972, at the age of 29.

Previous life before joining MSC?

I left school and worked with an Electrical wholesale company for a couple of years and started doing messages for them and then became their Purchasing Officer.

I then took a job as a Trainee Manager with Ashley’s Division of Woolworths and was an Assistant Manager in Wollongong before then becoming a Trainee Manager with the aim of being promoted to Store Manager in the future.

I couldn’t see myself doing this for the rest of my life, so in 1968 the YCW (Young Christian Workers) Headquarters in Melbourne contacted me to start work with them as an extension worker and I supported myself there for two years. In my final 18 months with the YCW, I worked fulltime and was supported by the Diocese Port Moresby and worked in the Children’s Court in Port Moresby and with groups of young workers around the area. It was there that I had my first contact with the MSCs. I was immediately drawn to their heart spirituality centred on the unconditional and personal love of good for everyone and especially the poor and little ones. I then decided that this is what I want to give my life to.

In 1972, I came back to Sydney and stayed at the Kensington Monastery. As I hadn’t completed Matriculation in high school, I went to Randwick College, completed Matriculation and then in 1973, I did my Novitiate at the Croydon Monastery in Victoria and took my first vows.

In 1974, I came back to St Paul’s and was ordained in the Wollongong Cathedral in 1977.

In 1978, I went back to Port Moresby as Curate in a Parish in Waigani with Fr Artie Clune and then in 1979 -1980, I was at the Cathedral in Port Moresby and also MSC Vocations Director.

I was ordained in 1977 and from 1978 – 1979 I was appointed to Waigani.  From 1980 – 1982, I was Vocations Director and then until 1985, I was the Director of the Spiritual Year for the Diocesan Seminary in Ereva in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

From 1987 – 1989, I was appointed as the Rector of De Boismenu Seminary in Bomana, Port Moresby and in 1990, I completed my Masters Degree in Theology in Toronto, Canada at the Jesuit School of Theology.

In 1991, I was appointed Rector at the MSC College at the Fiji Seminary and was also Superior for the Fiji Region from 1992 – 2002.

In 1994, I was appointed Superior of the Pacific Union and moved to Kiribati where the Province headquarters were before moving these headquarters to Fiji along with the Novitiate in 1997.

In 2003, I returned to Australia and was appointed Superior of the Douglas Park community.

In 2010, I went to Melbourne and did the Siloam Program in Spiritual Direction and continued at Douglas Park in the community and Retreat House until I took the role of Deputy Provincial in 2018.

For all these sins I was moved to the Kensington community in 2021.

Favourite ministry to date and why?

I can honestly say that I haven’t been in a ministry or a place that I haven’t been happy with or enjoyed working there.

All the places that I have worked in have been very enriching, challenging and rewarding.

Favourite food?

Lobster or any kind of seafood.

Favourite pastime?

Being lazy – but I haven’t been doing that.

Watching movies, going for walks.

Any goals you hope to achieve for 2021?

Walk more and be kind and loving.

Anything remaining on your bucket list?

I was a HAM (Hotel Alpha Mike) raid operator in the Pacific, and I still have my equipment so perhaps when I retire one day, I would get back to that and communicate with people all over the world.

In closing, can you please share with us a few words to best describe who Steve Dives really is?

Quiet, friendly, joking, can laugh at myself. Responsible, kind, like to get things done.

Immersed in spirituality of the Heart and Eco-spirituality.

NT Tales: A Fishing trip, a Bishop and a Thief        

You never know what might arrive in the Inbox. You might like this one.

Peter Carroll MSC - it's his story!

Malcolm Fyfe writes: Recently I was asked about an event that took place in 1983.

Father Tom English and I, in consultation with Brother Gerry Burke, have put the following together.

Fr Tom English

You may be interested to read the account.

Soon after Father Peter Carroll msc arrived in Darwin mid-January 1983 to take up his appointment, he went with Father Tony Bolt msc and Bishop O’Loughlin msc in the St John’s boat on a fishing trip up Middle Arm.  Their boat broke down and towards evening Peter Carroll went through the mangroves to contact another boat, but as he was getting there, the other boat cruised away.  As he was returning through the mud, the tide started coming in, so he had to climb a mangrove tree.  As the water got higher, he had to climb higher still, until he ran out of tree and the water was up to his neck.  Fortunately, the water then started to subside.

Bishop O'Loughlin

Some hours later I was talking to the couple of guys who had found the Bishop and Tony Bolt in the morning.  When they had heard that there was yet one more priest in the mangroves, they had been surprised he was still there alive, as there are plenty of crocodiles in the area.  They then towed them to the old Catalina boat ramp where I (Fr Tom English) met them.  Peter Carroll was covered in sand fly bites.

Meantime I was aware that the Bishop was late in getting home so I assumed he was at St Johns.  I eventually rang Brother Gerry Burke at St John’s but he hadn’t seen them, so I asked him to come round to St Mary’s Presbytery while I range the Police.  The police were slow in arriving and then, when we went out the front of the presbytery, we discovered that the St John’s car that Brother Gerry had come in, was missing. It had been stolen.

The above was provided by Father Tom English, currently parish priest of Palmerston.

The following day the NT News took up the above part of the story.

Hard to see the cartoon top right - but it suggests they might get out and walk!

SEQUEL TO THE ABOVE:

A couple of days later, with the car still missing, I started wondering where those who had purloined the vehicle, would likely have abandoned it, after presumably, having taken it for a joy-ride. I considered it unlikely they would risk driving down the Highway in a car that was being searched for.

I had the inspiration that the most likely place the thieves would abandon it might be the large parking area of the newly built Darwin Hospital. (The new Hospital at Casuarina had become fully operational in 1980.)

I drove my car out there and found the stolen St John’s car.

Gerry Burke - testimony

Note: My earlier stint in the Darwin diocese was from 1978 to 1983 inclusive. Brother Gerry Burke msc, now living at Chevalier College Bowral NSW, can corroborate my story.

Malcolm Fyfe, Vicar General, Darwin

2021 update booklet on Deceased MSC confreres by Jim Littleton MSC

For almost 30 years, Jim Littleton has been doing a service to the province in publishing obituaries and photos of our deceased confreres. In this present book, there are 16 entries, brothers and priests who have died since 2018 – a surprising number.

For copies, contact Jim: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SOME SIGNIFICANT MAY DAYS FOR THE CHEVALIER FAMILY 2021

A reminder, May 6^th, that the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Randwick was opened in 1888, only a few years after the arrival of the first MSC in Sydney. The parish in those days extended to Botany.

1 May, 1863

An article on Our Lady of the Sacred Heart appears in the Jesuit publication, "Messager du Sacré-Coeur", founded by Fr. Henri Ramière, SJ. It is the first presentation of this new title for Mary.

3 May 1928

Mother Liboria Loeper, Provincial of the American Province MSC Sisters, arrived in Sydney to begin an Australian foundation that would be of support to the established Mission in Papua New Guinea. 

6 May, 1883

The shrine of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Sittard, Netherlands is elevated to a Basilica by Pope Leo XIII. Today, it is the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the Netherlands.

     

6 May, 1888

In Randwick, Australia, the church built by Father Michael Tierney, is dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Today, it is the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Australia.
  

10 May, 1888

The first MSC Fathers Edouard Bontemps and Joseph Leray, and Brother Conrad Weber arrive in Kiribati! Fr. Leray would later become the first Bishop of Gilbert Islands.

12 May, 1931

Father Eugène Meyer dies in Issoudun. He was the Superior General of the MSC from 1905 to 1920, the second after Father Jules Chevalier.

14 May, 1926

Father Pierre-Marie Tréand, founder and first Provincial of the Australian MSC Province, dies this day.

18 May, 1856

Still early days of the MSC foundation. Father Charles Piperon joins the budding community of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, in Issoudun. Two days later, the Archbishop of Bourges appoints him as Prison Chaplain at Issoudun.

21 May 1928.

At Station Pier, Melbourne, she welcomed Srs Eulalia, Aquilina, Maurilia, Zaccharia, and Margareta. Their first destination was Rupertswood, Sunbury where they provided practical support to the Salesians. 

22 May, 1839

Jules Chevalier is 15 years old. On this day, he received the sacrament of Confirmation at Richelieu. He received his First Holy Communion three years earlier on 29 May, 1836, again in Richelieu.

26 May, 1860

Henry Verjus is born in Oleggio, in Italy.

31 May, 1865

The feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is publicly celebrated for the first time.

By 1872 the feast is celebrated worldwide in 950 churches or chapels.
For quite some time, this feast was held on this date, but today, globally, the feast is observed on the last Saturday in May.

The Beatification of the Quiche Martyrs, Photos, comment by Pope Francis

Words from Pope Francis at Ángelus today (25.04.2021)

Last Friday in Santa Cruz de Quiché, Guatemala, Jose Maria Gran Cirera and nine fellow martyrs were beatified: three priests and seven laymen belonging to the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus missionaries, committed to the defence of the poor, who were killed between 1980 and 1991, when the Catholic Church was persecuted. With living faith in Christ, they were heroic witnesses of righteousness and love. May your example make us more generous and courageous in living the Gospel. Let's give a round of applause for the new Beatos.   Pope Francis

A range of photos from the ceremony.   And sections of an article by former Tablet correspondent now with La Croix.

A child-martyr and the so-called defenders of religious freedom/ Robert Mickens | Vatican City

Why the story of a 12-year-old Mayan boy named "Juanito" should trouble Christians in comfy secularized countries who believe they're being persecuted.

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church".

That popular phrase is attributed to the prolific early Christian writer Tertullian. Though badly translated from the original Latin, its meaning is clear nonetheless: try to annihilate the followers of Jesus Christ and they will sprout up in even greater numbers.

The Church venerates its martyrs with special liturgical feast days.

For instance, we just celebrated the feast of St. George. The April 23rd commemoration has been a public holiday in Vatican City since 2013. That's because it's also the "name day" of Pope Francis, whose baptismal name is "Jorge" or George. The Feast of St. George had a particularly poignant meaning this year for the Catholics of Guatemala in the pope's native Latin America. Three Spanish-born priests of the Sacred Heart Missionaries and seven lay catechists of the indigenous Maya people were beatified on April 23 in the Cathedral of Santa Cruz de Quichè.

Abzalon, MSC Superior General - and distinctive mask

Guatemalan Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini, a child of northern Italian immigrants, presided at the beatification Mass, which was made possible last year after the pope signed a decree recognizing all ten as martyrs. The first Native Indians in Central America to be called "blessed". They were killed at various stages between 1980-1991 in the Diocese of Quiché in the western part of the country. The seven lay people are believed to be the very first Native American Indians to be declared "blessed" in Central America.

Perhaps the most notable of these "Martyrs of Quiché" was Juan Barrera, a child-catechist whose family belonged to Catholic Action. Juanito" was only twelve years old when the US-backed and -trained Guatemalan military tortured and killed him in January 1980 "in odium fidei".

Archbishop Gonzalo de Villa, a Jesuit who was installed last September as head of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala, called the boy the "proto-martyr" of the group. The Spanish-born archbishop, whose family immigrated to the Central American country when he was only eight years old, choked up and held back tears during a prayer service the evening before the beatifications as he paid tribute to the child-martyr Juanito. But he said it was a day of great joy for Catholics in Guatemala, who were hounded by government forces for allegedly siding with leftist guerrillas during an undeclared and brutal civil war that dragged on from 1960-1996.

An estimated 200,000 people were killed or made to disappear during the long and vicious war. They included Catholic missionaries, priests and women religious, even from the United States. But most of the victims were Mayans, and the poor indigenous Catholics who lived in the administrative Department of El Quiché were among those most hounded by pro-government forces. "It was enough to have a Catholic bible or rosary to be targeted"

"Thousands of Catholics, especially catechists, were killed at that time," recalled the Sacred Heart Missionaries. A missionary bishop from that era noted that "it was enough to have a Catholic bible or a rosary to be classified as a guerrilla member and, therefore, a prisoner of death". This was well-known. And when Pope John Paul II visited Guatemala in February 1996 -- nearly a year before the final peace accords were signed -- there was still the feel of persecution in the air.

But many Guatemalan Catholics, and the missionaries who came to help them during that long civil war, were not so fortunate. Some of them -- like the Blessed Stanley Rother of Oklahoma -- have already been officially recognized as martyrs by the Vatican. Countless others remain unknown or forgotten. We'll probably never know all of their names.

However, the Martyrs of Quiché should humble Catholics who live in affluent, secularized countries, especially when we or our spiritual leaders complain that our religious freedoms are being eroded or outright denied. We should be especially ashamed and critical when we, or those who speak in our name, have the audacity to claim that we face persecution for our beliefs. But that is the type of rhetoric some Catholics have used during the coronavirus pandemic, while protesting the forced closure of churches and schools for health emergency reasons. Others have been whinging and whining about the marginalization and even persecution of Catholics in Europe and the United States long before COVID-19 arrived.

That's not what happened to Blessed Juanito Barrera. Guatemalan soldiers, who were very possibly trained by the CIA, took this 12-year-old boy to a shallow stream and flayed the soles of his feet. They forced him to walk on the stones of that riverbed before they cut off his ears and broke his legs. The soldiers then shot Juanito several times. Later when his lifeless body was recovered, a rosary was found in the pocket of his trousers.

Juanito and the other martyrs who were beatified on April 23 lived in what was then called the Diocese of Santa Cruz de Quiché. It was changed to, simply, the Diocese of Quiché in the year 2000. The Holy Cross was dropped from the name, but it remains the most visible symbol for all who profess to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth, one who was tortured and then murdered on a cross. He put up no resistance and harshly rebuked those of his followers that did.  Jesus "endured the cross, disregarding the shame of it".

This is something worth meditating on next June 4th when the Church of Guatemala celebrates Feast of the Martyrs of Quiché.

St Joseph – Man of Dreams  - Tomorrow, May 1^st, is the Feast of St Joseph the Worker in the Year of St Joseph.

Mt 1:20, Mt 2:13, 19, 22

Stephen Hackett MSC, Secretary of the Australian Bishops Conference sent this commissioned article – written by Michelle Vass. Director of the Retreat House, St Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park.

Luke’s Gospel speaks of a single visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, setting her path for the rest of her life. In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear of an angel visiting Joseph some four times, guiding him step   by step through troubled times. Interestingly, these visitations come to the sleeping Joseph in his dreams.

As a carpenter, Joseph would have been no stranger to silence. We can imagine him spending time alone, honing his patience and concentration as he worked the wood. Perhaps there is a link between this silent way of Joseph and the silent way of dreams in which the angel communicates with him? We could be fooled in thinking that, as a man of dreams, Joseph lived in a fantasy world. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As a man of dreams, Joseph has much to teach us about the power of trust, the power of prayer and the power of discerning God’s presence in our lives.

Joseph’s dreams come to him at difficult times, when he is afraid and needs to make important decisions. The first dream comes after he finds out about Mary’s pregnancy and has decided to dismiss her. The dream allows Joseph, the righteous man who knew the law, to interpret the law with love. He might have been angry and disappointed, yet he acts as if he is saying what his step-son would say to a woman about to be stoned almost thirty years later, “He who has never sinned, let him cast the first stone” (John 8:7).

Joseph’s dreams are brief, or at least the snippets we hear are brief. In the second dream, the angel tells Joseph to get up, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until further instructions. If we listen to the Scriptures and the saints, it would seem that brevity is a strong characteristic of spiritual experiences. St Teresa of Avila writes very clearly that the duration of a rapture is short, and any prolonged raptures are more often due to the sister not being in control of herself, than to God!1

Joseph’s dreams give clear instructions. In the third dream, again Joseph is told to get up, take the child and his mother and go to Israel, for those seeking the child’s life are dead. They also give reason and encourage. In the first dream, Joseph is told to name the child Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. In the fourth dream, he is warned that Herod’s son has replaced him and so to go to Galilee. Somehow Joseph knows to trust these messages. There is no fussing, no questioning or consulting other’s opinions; he simply acts. Think how steadfast his trust in God must have been to know that what came to him in a dream was not to be questioned.

Do you trust your dreams? Dreaming is an interesting phenomenon and research continues into its function in our lives. Dreams help our brains work through the myriad experiences of our day – a kind of mental processing and decluttering.2 Scripture also attests to dreams as a powerful sign of the presence of God. God is believed to actively speak through dreams as we hear in the Book of Joel, “…your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28).

Joseph’s dreams offer us a lesson in discernment. When we are plagued by troubles, it can be very difficult to get to sleep, let alone rest enough to be aware of a dream. To do so, we must trust, surrendering all our cares to God. We might even say we surrender our cares in exchange for our dreams!

Joseph reminds us that rest is essential if we are to hear God’s voice and understand what is being asked of us. He shows us what happens when we wait patiently even in fearful circumstances, trusting and remaining open to how Love might work in our lives. Just as Paul reminded the Romans to be transformed by the renewing of the mind so as to discern the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom 12:2) – Joseph reminds us to allow our minds to be renewed through our dreams.

The fact that we hear about four of Joseph’s dreams reminds us too that discernment works in all aspects of our lives. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit and it is honed with experience. The Desert Fathers and Mothers prayed for the gift of discernment in all things. They knew that discernment in every aspect of life requires flexibility, constant self-examination and spiritual awareness.3 Just as Joseph’s actions were constantly guided by the angel’s instructions, we too need to adapt our spiritual practices to work, family and community demands, always alert to the need for change.

Finally, you are probably aware that Pope Francis has a special devotion to St Joseph. “I have great love for Saint Joseph, because he is a man of silence and strength. On my table I have a statue of Saint Joseph sleeping. Even when he is asleep, he is taking care of the Church! So when I have a problem, a difficulty, I write a little note and I put it underneath Saint Joseph, so that he can dream about it! In other words I tell him: pray for this problem! …”4

Joseph, the man of dreams, reminds us that prayer and discernment are not about what we do, so much as how we keep our hearts open to the gifts of God. We must wait for what comes, inwardly attentive, always ready to live the messages of Love. So, happy dreaming tonight.

Remember the Psalmist’s advice (Ps 127) that your earlier rising and going later to rest are in vain, for gifts will be poured on you the beloved as you sleep, just like Joseph!

Michelle Vass is director of the St Mary’s Towers Retreat Centre, Douglas Park, a work of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

1 St Teresa of Avila, the Book of Her Foundations – A Study Guide, Marc Foley, O.C.D., ICS Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington DC, 2012, pp83,84

2 Kendra Cherry, 16/6/20, Why do we dream? undefined>.verywellmind.com/why-do-we-dream-top-dream- theories-2795931

3 Balance of the Heart – Desert Spirituality for Twenty – First Century Christians, Lois Farag, Cascade Books, Eugene OR, 2012, pp 173 – 186.

4 Sermon of Pope Francis, January 16, 2015 (Philippines)