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Hurley Shrine Opened, New Prayer Issued April 19th, 2017
Originally Published on OMIWORLD.ORG
(The Southern Cross, South Africa) On the weekend of March 19, crowds gathered at Durban’s Emmanuel Cathedral to pray at the newly opened shrine to Archbishop Denis HURLEY, who was ordained bishop of Durban 70 years ago this week.
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop Hurley’s successor as archbishop of Durban, has given permission for a shrine and has encouraged acts of public devotion. The cardinal recently said that such devotions are the evidence that the archdiocese needs to open a cause for the canonization of Archbishop Hurley.
Following the Catholic custom, after he died on February 13, 2004, the archbishop was buried in his own cathedral, in a grave just in front of the Lady Chapel, which he loved. The shrine marks this out as a special place of prayer with a prie-dieu (or kneeler), a candle that will remain lit perpetually, and a special prayer invoking Archbishop Hurley’s example.
The date for the launch of the shrine was chosen because it was 70 years ago, on March 19, 1947 that the 31-year old Fr. Denis Hurley was consecrated bishop—at the time the youngest bishop in the whole Catholic world.
When the vicariate of Durban was elevated to the status of archdiocese in 1951, he also became the world’s youngest archbishop.
Archbishop Hurley retired in 1992 and then served as the parish priest of Emmanuel cathedral parish.
Masses were celebrated over the weekend by Mgr. Paul Nadal, who served as Archbishop Hurley’s last vicar-general, and by a number of Hurley’s fellow Oblates, including Bishop Barry WOOD, Natal provincial Fr Vusi MAZIBUKO, and Fr Chris RICHMOND, superior of Sabon House, the archbishop’s last community.
“Durban City Council has recognized Hurley’s importance with a street and now a museum dedicated to him; the Church is now formally encouraging us to pray for his intercession by the creation of this shrine. It is clear that he is an inspiration to Catholics and to all citizens,” said Hurley biographer Paddy Kearney.
Raymond Perrier, director of the Denis Hurley Centre, noted that “Pope Francis keeps reminding us that we are the ‘Church of the Poor’. Hurley’s example drives the work for the poor that continues in his name. With our prayers, and the work of the Spirit, perhaps in time he will be St. Denis of Durban, patron of the poor.”
Visit the Denis Hurley Centre’s website to read more about the work of the organization and for a gallery of historical photos.
Download the specially commissioned prayer to honor Archbishop Hurley and to ask for his intercession.
The prayer:
Loving Father, we thank you for the life, vocation and ministry of your servant Denis Hurley, our bishop, brother and friend in Christ. We pray that his work for justice and peace; his loving care for the poor and marginalized; and his vision for a reformed and renewed Church, may continue to inspire us with increased vigor. Grant that the gift of the Spirit may enable us to act in harmony to establish your kingdom in our lives, our work and our world as we strive to follow Denis Hurley’s motto: “Where the Spirit is, there is freedom!” Listen kindly to the intercession of your servant Denis on our behalf, and grant us the favor of his patronage in your kingdom. We pray that in Christ your Son, all may be sanctified, all may be one. Amen.
On Earth Day 2017 Let Us Thank God for Creation April 18th, 2017
Earth Day, annually celebrated on April 22, is the largest secular observance in the world. It was first observed in 1970. Today the Earth Day Network coordinates worldwide events in over than 193 countries. On Earth Day 2016, the United States, China and 120 other countries signed the landmark Paris Climate Agreement that went into effect later that year.
Environmental and Climate Literacy, this year’s theme, encourages citizens’ education on key concepts to prepare them for advocacy.
Download the full resource here.
Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI: The Search for Meaning Continues April 5th, 2017
St Patrick’ Day 2017 found me in Paris to participate in a meeting of the UNIAPAC Think Tank (association of Christian business leaders) and to offer some comments on the history of Faith Consistent Investing, comment on the intersection of Catholic Social Teaching principles and guidelines and goals like the UN Principles for Responsible Investments and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I also mused a bit on the opportunities and challenges that were on the horizon for faith based investors. The session was hosted at part of the complex of the Bank of France and close by the Louvre and the Palais Royal.
On Friday evening, after the meeting, as I walked towards a restaurant on Rue Notre-Dame de Victories I was approached by a young woman who was searching for the basilica of Notre-Dame des Victories. Seasoned traveler that I am I presumed it must be nearby and immediately pulled out my smartphone to get the precise coordinates. She looked on quizzically and was more at ease when I showed her how the basilica was identified by a blue dot on the screen. We walked together for a few minutes, made a few quick turns on the narrow streets and immediately came upon Notre Dame des Victories.
We parted and she stepped quickly toward the front entrance and disappeared. I paused for a moment and as I was already late for my engagement, I wondered about stopping in to see what attracted my companion. It was nearly nine o’clock in the evening and I wondered what kind of event might be taking place at that hour, a Friday night, and St Patrick’s Day at that. I assumed my friends would understand so I turned and entered.
To my surprise the basilica was full to overflowing with a very diverse congregation of mostly younger people. The atmosphere w
as solemn and the silence broken by the voice of someone leading the group in a solemn meditation that was interrupted by an antiphonal biblical chant. The darkness was broken by light from numerous candles and flares that were scattered throughout.
I left after a brief visit and joined my colleagues for dinner where we debriefed on the topics of the daylong meeting and discussed some more thought provoking aspects of the different presentations on development, gene therapy, sustainable banking and responsible investing, and talked about what if any follow-up actions might be appropriately aligned with the mission of the Church in the world. With seven different nationalities represented at the table there were numerous points of view and analyses presented and discussed.
Throughout the meal I looked a few times at the little poster that described the purpose of the gathering that I had picked up earlier. It said that the event was organized by the “Sowers of Hope” and the question for reflection and prayer that evening was “Is it possible to love?” A very interesting and profoundly philosophical question that was being considered in the presence of the Lord.
More than two hours later as I retraced my steps back in the direction of my hotel, I noticed some small groups of people gathered in front of the basilica and I decided to go back inside. Much to my surprise the church was still quite full and the readings and chantings continued. I sat for a while and then noticed that the young woman who had asked for directions earlier was still sitting at the end of one of the pews. Her fellow pilgrims were either seated, standing, or kneeling on the floor as they participated in the worship.
This time I stayed longer and moved toward the center of the church to get a closer look. A small choir was accompanied by a solo piano player while others pressed closer to the sanctuary where they joined in communal prayer or left their candles of remembrance or petition.
I left just before midnight while many pilgrims were still inside and walked slowly to my hotel. Was I really in Paris, in the capital of the eldest daughter of the Church? Was Patrick the missionary, on this third Friday of Lent, ploughing open some old furrows that would nourish the faith of the recent immigrants from numerous former colonies and distant places, and at the same time rekindling the faith of these welcoming youth of Paris who were gathered together in this sacred space?
The image of that great basilica filled with so many young people late into the night in Paris gathered in prayer, and to wonder about the possibility of love and where to find the seeds of hope in their lives and in today’s world remains with me. It makes me wonder about the many who are looking for reasons to hope, paths to loving relationships and increasing harmony with the earth, with strangers and migrants they have yet to meet. In a period of disruption and anxiety that is reflected in so many ways and in so many spaces may the seeker in all of us be united with those in our midst who are searching for a reason to hope and be fulfilled by the Easter experience of new life and meaning.
Excerpts from St. Eugene de Mazenod’s Lenten Sermon of March, 1813 April 5th, 2017
Excerpts from St. Eugene de Mazenod’s Lenten Sermon of March, 1813
Support Human Trafficking Victims by Completing a Brief Survey March 31st, 2017
An Effort to Prevent Human Trafficking
By the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT)
Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that enslaves women, men, and children into situations of forced labor, debt bondage, and sexual servitude. Human trafficking is wide spread in many products’ supply chains, including products sold in the United States. For example, the United States imports 80-90% of its seafood, and tens of thousands of people are exploited at every link in the seafood harvesting and production chain. This exploitation occurs through abusive recruitment practices, as well as slavery at sea and in seafood processing plants.
So what can we, as Catholics, do to prevent human trafficking and exploitation in supply chains? We can educate ourselves and use our power as ethical consumers to help stamp out trafficking.
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Here is your opportunity to make a difference! This Lent, we ask you to fill out this short, five-question survey. |
“Together with the social responsibility of businesses, there is also the social responsibility of consumers. Every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act.”
—Pope Francis, World Day of Peace, January 1, 2015
Currently, we are not always given the information we need to make moral purchasing decisions. CCOAHT wants to ask seafood companies that are engaged in cleaning up their supply chains to label their packaged products. Through labeling, we as consumers can make educated purchasing choices that help eradicate human trafficking.
Please fill out this short, five-question survey.
We encourage you to share this with your networks and ask them to fill out the survey as well!
CCOAHT will use the data from this survey when it reaches out to seafood companies to request that they include a label on their packaged products.
CCOAHT is a nationwide coalition that represents religious orders and organizations, and is a key leader in the Catholic struggle against human trafficking in the United States.
