May, 12, 2020
It is almost three weeks since that last blog, and for
all of us it has been living in lockdown.
Ha, now it is May 18. You know, if it is true that the
way to hell is paved with good intentions, then I am ¾ of the way their, and
that is just with the Blog. There are plenty of other things too.
But let’s tackle some things while we can.
Skype---They reminded me about the expiry of my old
credit card but when I tried to send the info about the new card, I ran into
the usual unfriendly web pages suggested. Eventualy, I just pretended to start
a new subscription and managed to get the new credit card info in their files,
while still keeping the old info about how much air time I still have, etc. I
spent hours and hours trying to do this but eventually it was the Holy Spirit
that got us through. I now can use it to call my uncle Casey (92 yrs. Old) who
has macular degeneration and can hardly see. It is the only form of
communication that works for him now. The phone rings and the recording says the
usual ….we’re not home now but just leave your phone number, etc. Ha. I know
they are there because they can hardly move, he and his wife, the other Rose.
So I can, come on, I know your’re there, it’s Cas from Africa, and in a few
seconds he picks up the phone and we get going.
I also use it for cheap phone calls all over the world,
since it is only 2 cents a minute. I am happy that I am still able to use
Skype.
Another thing
that brought joy to my heart was that the internet was reconnected to us. Wow,
it save me having to go over to the monastery to get a signal there, and
now I can also use I t at night when I
have time on my hands.
My sink was
clogged up so I got some baking powder and some white vinegar and tried to
unblock it. Lots of fizzing and foozing but not satisfactory. It allowed a
small amount of water to go down after
long while, but eventually we had to get a plumber to do it. I think it
took him about 30 seconds to unplug it.
It must be a plumber’s secret.
Mike Pillay, our
church leader, said he had to come to one of the convents here at Mariannhill
to bring food parcels . I asked him to drop in and pick up the stuff I had
prepared for his kids for Easter. He reminded me about the bottle of Ballantine’s whiskey which he game
me for my birthday last November which I haven’t touched because of medication.
Ha he was so happy.
But a
highlight of this time, I think, is from the things I have been reading….Man’s
search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, a Jewish Psychiatrist who is a survivor of
Auchshwitz and Dachau.
It is unbelievable that anyone could have survived the
conditions they had to live and work in. Starvation, freezing weather to work
in, beatings for nothing, etc. it is
there that he got much of the material for his book. He came to the conclusion
that every person needs to have something that gives meaning to his/her life.
If that person’s life has meaning, that person can survive almost anything. It is basic, he thinks. I think that I would
agree with that. If one is convinced that his/her life is meaningless, there is
no more a desire to go on living. He saw this in the concentration camp. Those
who found no reason to live (to get back home and be with his beloved wife and
watch their child grow into maturity , for example) just died. They found no
meaning for their life, they just gave up.
He also made an
interesting observation regarding sex. Wasn’t it Freud who said that sex was
the basic driving force for all human beings. He said that there in the all male
environment of the camp, there was no talk of sex at all, whereas anywhere else
where there are all males (prison, army, scouts), there are always problems.
His conclusion was
that if you could find a reason WHY you should continue to live
(meaning), someHOW you would manage it.
He tries to help people find meaning for their lives through what he
calls Logo therapy, but we won’t go
into that now. The terrible things he had to endure for more than 2 yrs. Really
made me think.
There is another book that was reviving my spirits. My
friend, Carohn Cornell, pulled together the stories of a bunch of people who
had all worked for the Catholic Welfare Bureau , later called the Catholic
Welfare and Development, emphasis
shifting from welfare mode to development mode so as to help people and
their projects self sustainable . This was during the time of heavy apartheid
In Cape town. It made one proud to see the Catholic Church, which inspired
people, to become activists for uplifting people and for challenging unjust
structures that were oppressing them. It renewed many memories and brought back
to mind many of the people who I was
privileged to meet and even work with during those dark days. Of course the
next question is what are we called to be and do now. The
explanation or who these beautiful people are is very flimsy. They are, all of
them, heroes and heroins for their involvement in the struggle to bring
democracy to south Africa and an end to apartheid.
There are many other things I would like to share with
you, but let this suffice for now. Here is an article from one of my mentors,
Bishop Kevin Dowling reflecting on the things that the corona virus brought out
into the open that makes him feel that we simply can’t go back to the way
things were before this pandemic. Here is what he says. Check it out with what
you think..
We cannot
go back to what was normal in the past
The Church faces two tasks, to help those suffering in the
present crisis and to look to a different future
SOUTH AFRICA, even after 26 years of independence, still
remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. The immediate need to
respond to the health crisis cannot obscure the urgent need to create a more
just and equitable society once the pandemic passes. The Church must be
involved in both struggles, writes Bishop Kevin Dowling. The number of infections and deaths recorded
so far has been lower than expected. The peak will perhaps arrive only in
September, and a long, uncertain road lies ahead. The prevention strategies
being implemented only highlight the reality of life for most people here.
Since 1 May, everyone who goes to work in a taxi or a car, anyone in the public
domain, has to wear a face mask – but they are responsible for making these masks
themselves. Social distancing is regarded as essential for diminishing the rate
of infections – in that sense it is the right thing to do – but it is simply
not always feasible. Thousands of very poor families in the huge shack
settlements around the platinum mines in my diocese live in one room. Social
distancing in such conditions is virtually impossible. How can they stay at
home and wash their hands frequently, when there is no readily available water?
The same often applies in the overcrowded townships. People are doing their
best, but in my once a week trip to town for food I have seen a lot of people
moving around outside their homes, including children playing with their
friends. Many people here are desperately hungry. NGOs, the government’s social
service departments and ordinary people are responding. But there have been
examples of unrest, as thousands of desperate people are not able to find
enough to feed their families. We are facing a serious crisis. The Church
leadership in Southern Africa, under the bishops’ conference and its president,
Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, has encouraged us to respond as creatively as
possible to the needs of the people, especially the poorest and most
vulnerable.
SOUTH AFRICA
A religious community which lives next to me at St Joseph’s
Mission, called Tsholofelo Community (“a place of hope”), works in some of the
poorest shack settlements. The community supplies over 500 adults and children
with food parcels once a week. One sister, a highly qualified nurse, is running
a primary health care and ARV clinic in a converted shipping container; other
sisters had been running education and training programmes until they were shut
down when the lockdown began because they were not considered a “essential
service”. I hope that as time goes on,
we can start to discern what the experience of this pandemic calls for from the
Church in terms of its vision, mission and ministry. We are living a primarily
sacramental model. The closing of churches and the suspension of public Masses
is challenging us to become a different kind of Church. We cannot go back to
what was normal in the past. We must be a Church which is much more inclusive
of the destitute and of those who are suffering in so many ways: the victims of
violence against women and children, all those who are stigmatised or suffer
discrimination. This requires addressing
honestly the systemic issues in the political fabric of the nation, the massive
corruption, mismanagement, and incompetence. But it also requires of us as
Church to reflect on and discern what the signs of the times call us to be and
do, what model of Church we need to create and develop. I hope and pray that
this crisis will bring out the treasures of who we are called to be as
disciples of Jesus, and to be the field hospital that Pope Francis dreams of.
This means building on what we have achieved in the past – but then, to be
creative in imagining something new for the future.
Kevin Dowling C.Ss.R. is Bishop of Rustenburg, (FROM
THE TABLET—MAY 9, 2020)
