Greetings everyone,

We’ve hit the 250th edition!

I am acting as guest editor this week, since I am back home for 12 days! This coming Sunday afternoon after Mass, I am off to Sydney for an-service with the community leaders in our Province. This has been planned by Denis Travers (Provincial) for some time, and is an initiative recommended by the recent General Chapter.

Following the meeting I have some work to do before heading to New Zealand to meet with some of key PFGM people and participate in a meeting with the NZ Trustees of the Movement and my brother Paul. I will be back at Holy Cross on December 11th.

Passionist Institute (Brian)
You may have baulked at the heading above and thought ‘that’s not for
me’. But please keep reading. If you are associated with the Passionists,
we are keen to enrich your belonging and have you help us better
understand and share our unique spirituality. What is it about Passionist
spirituality that you appreciate? To the extent that you can answer that, it is likely that
you already share in that spirituality, and have been attracted to it in the same way any
of the professed Passionists have been.
Our weekend Institute is an opportunity to
explore some of the major themes from our
recent General Chapter. The major one,
universally recognised and agreed to by all the
Passionists who were present, is that we have
no future without ‘Passionist laity’.
There are many levels of Passionists partnership and association and each of them is
important. Our founder was a ‘no-nonsense’ down-to-earth, practical spiritual guide
and preacher. That characteristic appeals to ordinary people, and it is not difficult to
recognise that added to those characteristics of his, hope, compassion, mercy and the
recognition of God’s overwhelming love, are gifts worth contemplating on and sharing
with others.

Troubling Thoughts & Spiritual Growth: Stages of Faith
Most people are familiar with James Fowler’s six stages of faith.
Similarly, M. Scott Peck introduced four stages of faith in his book The
Different Drum: Community Making and Peace. He is the same author
of the 10 million bestseller book The Road Less Travelled. If you are not
already aware of the four stages, I’d like to share a brief introduction.
The four stages offer insight into why, despite sharing the same beliefs,
we sometimes misunderstand one another’s perspectives. The
following summary, provided by a website focused on troubling
thoughts and spiritual growth, highlights these stages. As we read
through the stages it is advisable to think about at which stage of faith each of us might
be and why. The images are my addition. This week’s newsletter will cover stages three.
Introduction to M. Scott Peck’s Four Stages of Faith of Spiritual Development
Source: https://eriksholisticcornucopia.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/stages-of-faith-intro-to-m-scott-peck/

African Choir visit – thank you
Last Sunday, the African choir visited us and sang at Mass. They were deeply touched by
the warm welcome they received at Holy Cross. A few members approached me,
delighted, and mentioned that a friendly man greeted them in Swahili, asking,
"Unafanya nini?" which means, "What are you doing?" We discovered it was Joe Senzo,
using the only Swahili words he knows. They were filled with joy, hearing their language
and feeling the warm hospitality here.
After Mass, we gathered for a group photo and enjoyed a BBQ together. In the photo,
you'll see my younger brother Leon and me with Mr. Adam in the middle. I was
surprised to see him after 25 years! He taught both Leon and me in Grade 5 back in
Africa, and we had plenty to catch up on—especially from my "naughtiest" childhood
days! Thank you all for making the African choir feel so welcomed at Holy Cross.

News from Rome 6

Final days
On Thursday morning the Moderator admitted that many of us were tired, but there remained important work to do.
This graphic was displayed and we were invited to comment on what we saw. Not surprisingly, some said, “a half empty glass” or “a half full glass”. One added that the glass was full (half of it with air), but only half full of water!

The Moderator (Yago) went on to ask what attitude we personally needed to take up to make the most of the task we faced. He added another (clever) image that showed various nuances within our attitudes that could affect how we view the task and orient our energy to tackle it.

We then shared at our language group table, how we felt, which of these descriptions fitted us and how we plan to put aside the attitudes that would prevent us contributing to this important phase. That discussion created a lot of energy, and we should have more of that instead of large group (78) conversations.

General Chapter news
I turned to switch off my alarm clock on Wednesday morning, only to experience my bed collapsing. The taping attached to the slats had given way and with each attempt to lift myself high enough to get over the 17 centimetre side, resulted in falling back and more slats separating. Eventually I managed to ‘get out of bed’. Very kindly, the Rector here, Fr Natale and a maintenance man had fixed the bed by 11.30am.
Aurelian Walls 
I thought it worth sharing something about the amazing Aurelian Walls, especially because one section is close to us here and walking near them can provide good shade!  They are a line of city walls built around 275 CE during the reign of the Emperor Aurelian. They enclosed all seven hills of Rome and the Trastevere district. In the 4th century, remodelling doubled the height of the walls to 16 metres and by 500 CE, the circuit possessed 383 towers, 7,020 battlements, 18 main gates, 116 toilets  and 2,066 large external windows.

St Paul of the Cross Feast Day
Some of us gathered on the
evening of Friday, October 18th,
to celebrate the feast of St. Paul
of the Cross. The Passionist
Companions also gathered on
Tuesday, October 22nd, for a
commemoration of the Feast. It
would have been best if we all
gathered to celebrate together,
but hopefully next time. Sr. Brigid
CP has shared the following
reflection, which I thought we
could all enjoy.
“The theme of the General
Chapter is well known to you all:
Here I am send me: the Passion of
Christ, our source of life and
mission. How does this theme stir
you today? Joachim in his report
spoke of the need to be inspired
with a new enthusiasm to the fan
the ashes into fire, to stand ready and available ‘to go to the other side.’ I could stop
now and ask where is the other side for you?

St Paul of the Cross Feast Day
Tomorrow, October 19th, is the Feast Day
of St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775), the
Founder of the Congregation of the
Passionists. His vision unites us, and for
that, we honour him with gratitude.
Today, the Passionists consist of over 2,000
vowed religious members, serving in more
than 60 countries worldwide. In addition to
these vowed members, thousands of lay
Passionists are actively involved in their
mission and community life, whether
through formal roles or as associates,
sharing in the Passionist spirituality and
mission of commemorating Christ's
Passion.
The Holy Cross Community will place
special emphasis on celebrating St. Paul of
the Cross this Sunday at the 10 a.m. Mass.
Happy Feast Day, everyone!

Reports
Here in Rome, the General Chapter devoted two days to reports from the General (Fr Joachim), the General Econome (Fr Antonio) and the six Configurations, representing Passionists around the world. Erick sent Joachim’s report last week, so there is no need to repeat that, other than to highlight from the summary a consistent decline in the numbers of Congregation’s personnel. It is expected that this downward trend (principally in the northern hemisphere) will continue, with religious ageing and retiring and with deaths and departures. Many houses and presences will have to be evaluated for closure, communities will need to be more concentrated and consolidated, and ministries limited or renewed.
In the last six-year General administration term, two Provinces in northern Europe: St. Gabriel’s Belgium and St. Joseph’s England/Wales/Sweden were suppressed. Both were unable to provide personnel for leadership and had too few members. Belgium is now the responsibility of the Superior General, while the St Joseph’s personnel chose to be incorporated into St. Patrick’s Province (Ireland and Scotland).

Rafael’s hidden talent revealed
While Rafael has been on holidays from ELSPM, he hasn’t wasted any time. He’s been
doing a lot of work around the centre, mainly with Joey, and often cooking for the
community. His hidden talent is being a
‘master chef’ of authentic Indonesian
cuisine. Last week, he made a special
Indonesian dish that was so good, many of
us went back for seconds and thirds. Later,
I found out the dish contained pork
blood—JD even showed me a photo to
prove it! During the meal, I kept
wondering, "What is this amazing flavour?"
After learning what it was, I wasn’t sure
how I would have felt at the time, but now
I realise that sometimes it’s not just about
what we eat, but how it’s prepared.
We truly appreciate Rafael’s contributions to the community, and we’d also like to
acknowledge Shirley Barns, who prepares evening meals for us on Mondays and
Wednesdays, along with Terese Lim and others who pitch in occasionally. We are very