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“The family is where we first learn to relate to others,

to listen and share, to be patient and show respect,

to help one another and live as one.”

Pope Francis, Apostolic letter Amoris laetitia, 276

down. There is so much hatred, so muchkilling, so much unhappiness, because theworld of love, of peace and joy has beenbroken in families,” Mother Teresa sadlyobserved. She saw the absence of love andcommitment within the family as thegreatest poverty that needed to be tackled.Without the tenderness, the forgiveness,the mutual respect, the loyalty and the

willingness to serve selflessly, which islearned and practiced within the family,there can be no peace in the world. Thewelfare of society depends on the healthof the family. It is at home, in our own families, in ourown society and in the workplace, amongthose nearest to us, that the genuinenessof our love is put to the test. MotherTeresa was convinced that loving thoseclosest to us was the way to change theworld. For her, the home needed to becharacterized by three defining qualities:understanding, esteem and consideration.Every day life offers many opportunities of

On September 4 in Rome, Mother Teresaof Calcutta will be canonized. She has be-come an icon of charity for our times. Asfar back as 1959, Father Werenfried vanStraaten, the founder of ACN, visitedMother Teresa in India, and was one ofthe first people to make her knownthroughout Europe, along withher community of the Mis-sionaries of Charity and theirwork for the poorest of thepoor. Today, there are few peo-ple who have not heard of this“saint of the slums,” as somehave called her. In 1985, the then UN gen-eral secretary welcomed Mother Teresa infront of the plenary assembly of theUnited Nations with these words: “I donot think there is any need to introduceher. She does not need any words; sheneeds deeds. The best I can do is to payher the fitting tribute of saying that she ismore important than I am, more importantthan all of us. She is the United Nations.She is the peace in the world.” Yes, deedsof love are truly deeds of peace – that issomething that Mother Teresa often in-sisted upon. And love begins at home. “Today the world has been turned upside

practicing this fundamental way of express-ing love, through simple, unostentatiousgestures. We need to learn how to be asource of joy for one another. That is not aseasy as it sounds, and the family can alsobe a place in which people inflict deepwounds on one another. But Mother Teresawas convinced that by praying together,every difficulty can be overcome. In her

view, if the family memberscannot find time for God, thenthey will not find time for oneanother either.

“I pray for you, that you maycontinue to sow peace and

brotherly love, for the glory of God and thegood of mankind.” So Mother Teresa oncewrote to ACN. With the help of her prayersand your generosity, dear friends, we willcontinue this work of brotherly love.

With my grateful blessing on you all,

Father Martin Maria BartaSpiritual Assistant

The deeds of love aredeeds of peace – above all in the family.

A child with theloving and ap-proachable HolyFather, in Rome.

© Grzegorz Galazka

No. 6 · August/September 2016Published eight times a year

Religious lite

rature

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Good news in times of crisis

These young people in Carúpano already love the Child’sBible – now they are waiting to get hold of the YOUCAT.

The Bible is the revealed Word of God.It tells us about the relationship be-tween God and humanity. In it we findevery feeling and emotion experiencedby our human condition – suffering,love, hatred, humility, arrogance, lust,hunger, greed and betrayal.

The Catholic Catechism is the book that tellsus how to understand the Bible and live anddie by its Word. The Catechism is a “Hand-book for life,” a summary of the teachings ofthe Bible and the teachings of the Church –and there is a great need of it, particularly in

countries facing major political crises and so-cial upheavals. Like Venezuela, for example,which today suffers one of the highest crimerates in the world, along with food shortagesand violent unrest. Amid the instability, it isthe Catholic Church that is appealing forpeace, especially to the younger people. Hermessage is one of love and hope, and she isconveying this message through a prayerbook, designed to complement the nowwidely-read youth catechism, YOUCAT.

Bishop Jaime José Villarroel of Carúpano innortheast Venezuela has asked for our help.

Returning home – and into the arms of the merciful Father.

This prayer book is ideal for Bosnia and Herze-govina. In the Dioceses of Vrhbosna and BanjaLuka, it will be a source of hope both for return-ing refugees from the war and for those whostayed behind. It is a book for families. Withoutyour help, it would have been impossible toprint the 6,000 copies they need (at $3 each).

“Merciful like the Father”

He already has the ACN Child’s Bible and theRosary booklet, but the current crisis is throw-ing many young people into confusion and haseven led some people into a faith crisis. Thebishop’s aim is to tackle the problem with amajor catechetical campaign. For this, heneeds the books found in the YOUCAT series.In the past, they would have printed thesethemselves, but paper is now scarce inVenezuela and books in general have becomeprohibitively expensive on account of the gal-loping inflation. We are supplying him and hisneighbouring diocese with over 10,000 copiesof the YOUCAT, the YOUCAT Prayer Bookand also the YOUCAT Confirmation Book.They will be distributed personally by the Sis-ters and lay catechists to the participants in all33 parishes in their prayer circles and faith-based learning centers. The overall cost ofprinting and shipping the books comes to$63,000.

The Catholic Church in Venezuela has alreadywithstood many crises, thanks to the coura-geous women and men who have remainedfaithful to the Word of God and who knew andlived this Word. Today this Word – the GoodNews of the Gospel – is as urgently needed asever by the people of Venezuela. •

Keeping a firm grip on the Child’s Bible– now he just has to learn to read...

In case of surplus, your donation will go to similar

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Family apostolat

e

Praying for the future – their families’and their own. The school and summercamp open many hearts to faith.

An open-air Mass with the youngwhose future is at stake.

Inculturating the Gospel

Poverty and hunger drive many people toshocking practices that reflect this despera-tion. Kupimbira is the name of one of theseunfortunate customs, whereby poor familieshave to “pay” the rich by “marrying” theiryoung daughters – often still children – towealthy older men. For example, 13-year-old Maria was forcibly “married” by her fa-ther to a 78-year-old man from theneighborhood. It is traditions such as thesethat Pope Francis has in mind when hewrites in Evangelii Gaudium. “It is impera-tive to evangelize cultures in order to incul-turate the Gospel.” (69).

The Diocese of Karonga in Malawi is desperately poor. There are few properroads, too few schools and medical centers, and three people in every fivelive on less than a dollar a day. Generally speaking, the time from January toApril is a season of hunger.

It is precisely this kind of nourishment of tra-ditional culture, through the message of love,that the young Diocese of Karonga is seekingto achieve during this Year of Mercy. Thereis so much to do: a number of Catholics arebeing drawn to the assemblies of sectariangroups, while polygamy, belief in witchcraft,alcohol abuse and the exploitation of wid-ows – in order to acquire their inheritance –are widespread practices. All these thingsleading to conflict and enmity, often todecades-long feuds between and within fam-ilies and clans. Therefore, reconciliation, ed-ucation and information to dispel superstition

Reconciliation underthe African sun.

At a table, or under a tree, what mattersis coming together

in harmony.

are priorities for the program along with thefacilitation of dialogue between and withinfamilies. None of this will overcome the un-derlying poverty, but it will help the peopleto deal with the issues in a Christian way. AsSt. John Paul II has said, “It is from the fam-ily that peace will grow for the human fam-ily.” We have promised to support this youngdiocese with $11,400 for its program that willpromote peace and reconciliation. •

stand their religion and draw new hope from it,”says Father Tarcisio. He has 300 young peoplesigned up for his summer camp, from nine sepa-rate parishes. “Many of them no longer see anypoint to their lives; the destitution stifles all thehope in them,” he adds. In fact, the experience ofthese summer camps, with their combination ofprayer, discussions, teaching, personal warmthand mutual help, has already led to a number ofconversions and is a real source of hope for theChurch in Burma. However, last year the diocesehad to abandon the idea of the summer camp,since it simply could not afford the cost. Thisyear, with $10,400 from ACN, that will not haveto happen again. •

For many young people in Burma (Myan-mar) the alternative is unspeakable – drugs,human trafficking and destitution. But thesummer camps bring hope to many.

Poverty is present everywhere in Burma, but es-pecially among Christian families from ethnicminorities. Many people are forced by poverty tomove constantly, in search of work, but this oftenleaves them in still deeper destitution. TheCatholic Archdiocese of Taunggyi is trying to puta stop to this vicious spiral of poverty by meansof a formation program for children and youngpeople, during a summer camp. “Otherwise, theyhave no opportunity to really know and under-

Summer camps for God

projects that will enable the pastoral work of ACN.

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Thank you, Mother Teresa In just a few days time theChurch will canonize MotherTeresa. She is one of thosesaints who lived and exempli-fied Mercy, to the point of mak-ing it her personal mission. Tobe merciful, as St. ThomasAquinas tells us, does notmerely mean having passivefeelings of sympathy, but ac-tively endeavoring to help theperson suffering. In this senseshe is an example for us, andfor this we say “Thank you.” Fa-ther Werenfried, himself a man of active deeds of Mercy, discoveredher in India and remained good friends with her all his life. Pope St.John Paul II often received her and later beatified her. And you, too,helped her with countless gifts for the poor and needy, knowing, justas she herself said, that “the only thing that can overcome poverty issharing with one another.”

JohannesFreiherr Heereman,Executive President, ACN (International)

Dear Friends,Truly, the Spirit blows where Hewills. I was able to witness this atfirst hand when we received an audi-ence with the Holy Father to markthe launch of our campaign for theYear of Mercy. The Pope looked tired.But at the word MERCY, the lifesprang into his eyes. He positively ra-diated, the spark of enthusiasm in-stantly kindled. It appeared that fromdeep within him came the burningyearning that people might finallyunderstand just how greatly Godloves us, how infinitely wide open arethe arms of the merciful Father. Ihave never seen such intensity as thisbefore.

This man is a blessing who has beensent to the Church in our time. Fol-lowing his predecessor, who so won-derfully encapsulated the profoundtruth that God is Love, Pope Francisis now telling us how to convey thislove to others. Each of us can playour part, first of all in our own lives.His apostolic letter on the “Joy ofLove” is full of practical suggestionsfor our daily life. And then, afterthis, we must all get behind this Popeand carry the message of Mercy intothe world – into a world so full ofneed.

Erbil: A Land of Mercy! Christians from Iraq sought refuge inthe city of Erbil when in the summer of2014, Islamic State terrorists invadedtheir towns and villages. It would havebeen an even more catastrophic situationhad it not been for the local Church tak-ing in many of the displaced. It took agreat deal of faith and courage on theirpart, and all of this was thanks to yourdonations.

From the very beginning, Aid to theChurch in Need has provided for theirmost basic needs. Such as a roof overhead, or food for these thousands, com-pletely exiled from their countries. Thisis an exceptional kind of help for ourcharity whose main focus is on providingpastoral support. However, we feel it es-sential that a Christian presence be main-

tained where it has existed for millennia,and in our faith the land of our very ownancestors—the “first Christians”!

Moreover, last Spring, Pope Francis en-trusted a donation to our organization tobe used within the framework of the Yearof Mercy. These funds are to ensure thatpatients received at Saint Joseph’s clinic,run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, aretreated with dignity- and as God’s sonsand daughters.

This year, Aid to the Church in Need will continue with its aid programs forhousing and food in Erbil, during thiscrisis. It is only possible because of you!Thank you for being present in an ex-traordinary way, in solidarity with per-secuted Christians.

Editor: Jürgen Liminski,Kirche in Not/Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach1209, D–61452 Königstein, Germany,www.kirche–in–not.org – Responsiblepublisher: Marie–Claude Lalonde, Aidto the Church in Need (Canada) Inc.(See address – opposite). De licentiacompe tentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae.

Send your donation to: Aid to the Church in Need (Canada) Inc.P.O. Box 670, Stn. H, Montreal, QC H3G 2M6

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