WelCom September 2020
At this time of great upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic WelCom has invited cultural chaplains and members of some of our many cultural communities to share a pastoral reflection.
‘Māku anō tōku whare e hanga’
Rīkona Danny Karatea-Goddard
E te iwi whakapono, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.
Tuatahi, ka tangihia õ tātou mate, ērā kua riro i tēnei wā o te mate urutā. Haere, e okioki koutou ki te Ariki. Kāti!
Tihei mauri ora ki a tātou kua mahue mai ki muri.
I tau 1846 he wā pōautinitini nā te raupatu whenua ngā iwi o Waikato i whakapōhara. Na, i tukuna e te Kīngi Māori tuarua e Tāwhiao ēnei kupu whakakipakipa.
‘Māku anō tōku whare e hanga’.
Me hanga tātou i tētehi whare hou, ko te iwi hei tuapapa, ko te Kīngitanga hei tuanui.
‘Nā runga mai i ngā hau korure, me hangaia tētehi whare hei whakaruruhau mō ngā whakatupuranga e anga atu ana i te ao hurihuri nei me ōna wero i ngā rā ki mua.’
Katahi, i ngā wiki tata nei ka tuku a Kīngi Tūheitia i tōna karere Koroneihana ki te ao.
I ā ia e kōrero kauwhau ana i ākina tātou ki te noho piritata i te ao e rapu ana i tōna whakautu ki te mate urutā. Nāna te ki,
‘Tērā pea, ka rerekē te āhua o to tātou noho i ngā marama e tū mai nei.’
I akiakina te ao Māori e ia kia tūhono tonu, kia mahi tahi i te wā nei.
‘Kua honoa tātou i roto i ngā tini tūāhuatanga hou. Ko taku kupu tuatahi …me pupuri tātou ki te kotahitanga… ki ō tātou rangatira, me mahi tahi tonu, ā waiho mā te ngākau koutou e arahi. Ka hua mai ngā mea pai katoa i te ngākau pono, te ngākau pokekore.’
I ngā rangi tata nei ka tukuna ēnei whakaaro e te Huinga Pīhopa Katorika o Aotearoa i roto i tētehi karere.
‘Mō te tini o ngā whānau, ko te wā o te katinga tētahi wā onge tonu mō te hononga me te piringa ā-whānau. I hoki anō tātou ki te whakarārangi anō i ngā mea nunui o tō tātou ao. Kua kitea e tātou ētahi huarahi hou hei tūhonohono ki roto tonu i ō tātou whānau, me ō tātou hoa paetata. I kitea anō e tātou te ātaahua o tō tātou whenua, he pēhea hoki e taea ai te ngahau atu ki tō tātou wāhi noho paetata. Ko ētahi i kite i ngā whāinga wāhi hou mō te karakia, mō te huritao, kia hoki anō ki te Atua.’
E te iwi, e mōhio ana tātou kei te toimaha ētehi o koutou, i uru ētahi whānau ki te mokemoke, ki te hēmanawa, te kore mahi, na ka rongo atu i te tauwehenga ā-whānau, me te ririhau.
Mō to tātou whare hou kia kaha te īnoi, kia kaha te mahi, kia kaha tātou ki te manaaki, ki te hāpai tētehi ki tētehi i runga i tēnei ara hou. Waiho mā te ngākau e kōrero. He iwi tātou nā te Atua, he iwi tūmanako tātou. Nō reira e te iwi, kia ora!
‘I will build my new house’
Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard
To the faithful, greetings to you all.
Firstly, we mourn those who have been taken in the time of the pandemic. Go forth, may you rest in the Lord.
May the breath of life be with us who are left behind.
1846 was a time of great adversity where the tribes of Waikato had their lands confiscated their peoples became impoverished. The second Māori King, Tāwhiao, offered words of inspiration.
‘I will build my new house.’
The iwi must build a new house where people are the foundation and the Kīngitanga the ceiling.
‘With the winds of change, you have to fashion a house that will shelter you from those winds and every generation will have to face their own challenges.’
Then, in a recent message from King Tuheitia during his Coronation speech, he urged people to stick together as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic.
‘Our way of life could be different for some months yet,’ he said.
He urged te ao Māori to remain connected and to work together during this time.
‘We are united now in many new ways. My first message is that we maintain our kotahitanga…to our leaders, please work together and continue to lead with your heart. All good things come from an honest and pure heart.’
In a recent letter from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference they expressed it in this way.
‘For many families, the first lockdown and subsequent Covid-19 restrictions became rare times of family connection and togetherness. We are re-evaluating our priorities. We are finding new ways to connect within our families and with our neighbours. We are discovering anew the beauty of our nation and how much we can enjoy our local neighbourhood. Some are finding new opportunities for prayer and reflection and for a renewed relationship with God.’
We know that many of you are bearing burden, other families are experiencing isolation, stress, job loss and even family breakdown and violence.
For our new house, pray, work hard, be strong in our care of each other, to lift each other along this new path. Let the heart speak. We are the people of God, we are a people of hope. Good health to you all!
한국어/ Hangugeo – Korean
Cecilia Kim, Korean Community, St Mary of the Angels
코로나 사태로 유례없이 두번씩이나 미사 중단되는 사태를 맞았다. 봉쇄기간 처음에는 집에서 근무하고, 온라인 미사 드리는 것이 편하기도 했었다. 우리 공동체 식구들은 모처럼 온라인으로 한국말 미사를 드리니, 기도문이나 강론 말씀이 귀에 쏙쏙 들어오고. 가끔 해본 화상미팅도 재미있었고… 물론 영성체를 못 모시고 ‘신령성체의 기도’로 대체하는 것이 아쉬웠고 봉쇄기간이 끝나 미사가 재개되었을 때 성체를 모시면서 우리 모두 영성체가 얼마나 은혜로운지 깨닫는 계기도 되었다.
공동체 형제들을 만나고 싶어도 만날 수 없는 상황, 그리고 한국에 가족이 떨어져 있는 사람들은 서로 오갈 수 없게 된 상황들은 우리에게다시금 인간 관계의 소중함을 일깨워주었다. 그리고 전 세계는 생각했던 것보다도 더 밀접하게 연관된 한 운명 공동체임을 확인하게 되면서, 우리는 매일 한국과 뉴질랜드 뿐만 아니라 세계 각국에서 발생하는 코로나 확진자 수를 확인해보게 되었다.
우리는 이제 나 혼자만이 잘 먹고, 잘 산다고 되는 것이 아님을 절실히 경험하고 있다. 이번 코로나 사태는 우리 인간이 그동안의 빛나는과학 기술 발전의 성취에도 불구하고 조그만 바이러스에도 무너질 수 있는 나약한 존재임을 확인해주며 우리에게 더욱 겸손할 것을 요구한다.
하지만 우리 신앙인들은 로마서의 말씀처럼 주님을 믿고 인내하며 희망을 가져야한다. ‘환난은 인내를 자아내고 인내는 수양을, 수양은희망을 자아냅니다.” (로마 5:3-4)
우리 모두 주님을 믿고 희망하며 우리 공동체부터 서로 친절하게 배려하고 도움을 주는 따뜻한 공동체 일원이 되어 이 길고 우울한 코로나 사태의 시험을 함께 이겨나가자고 다짐해본다.
We are living in unprecedented times that stopped Mass being celebrated again. In the first lockdown we felt some welcome aspects as we worked at home without spending time dealing with the traffic. On Sundays we had online Mass in Korean, even though we missed Communion which was replaced with the Act of Spiritual Communion Prayer. We even enjoyed a few Zoom meetings. When Mass was resumed after lockdown, we realised how blessed we were able to take Communion!
When we couldn’t meet each other or our families in Korea, we appreciated the importance of our relationships and realised that our world was engaged in a common challenge. We’ve been tracking the Covid-19 cases not only in New Zealand and Korea, but that in other countries. We must think beyond our immediate personal issues. Despite remarkable scientific and technical achievements, we human beings are still very vulnerable, which reminds us to be humble.
We, however, as people of faith can rely on God who gives us hope even during the time of suffering, as said in Romans: ‘…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.’
We need to be kind to each other, be considerate and help each other, trusting God. In that way we will overcome this long and dark trial of Covid-19.
Español – Spanish
Carlos García
Hace dos semanas el Evangelio (Mateo 14, 22,33) nos decía que la tormenta era fuerte, y el mar estaba agitado. Entonces Jesús invitó a Pedro a caminar sobre el agua pero el dudó en su fe y empezó a hundirse. Pero el Señor, que es bondadoso y compasivo extendió la mano y lo salvó.
Las olas de la pandemia nos están poniendo a prueba y a veces sentimos que nos hundimos. Sin embargo Dios está con nosotros y Su mano está al alcance. El Espíritu Santo iluminará la mente de los médicos y científicos para superar el desafío que enfrentamos. Demos gracias por la oportunidad de poder reafirmar que confiamos, que creemos y no dudamos. Mantengamos alta nuestra fe.
Two weeks ago [Sunday 9 August], the Gospel (Matt 14-23), told us the wind was strong and the sea was wild. Then Jesus invited Peter to walk over the water but he hesitated and began to sink. However, the Lord who is kind and merciful, offered his hand and saved him.
The waves of the pandemic are testing us and sometimes we feel we are sinking. However God is with us and we can reach his hand. The Holy Spirit will enlighten the minds of doctors and nurses to overcome the challenges we face. We give thanks for the opportunity to reaffirm our trust, that we believe and do not doubt. We hold high our faith.
Carlos García is a member of the Latin American community and of St Francis of Assisi Parish, Ohariu, Wellington.
Tiếng Viết – Vietnamese
Fr Trung Nguyen, Assistant priest, Catholic Parish of Hastings
Thời gian này, chắc hẳn mỗi người trong chúng ta đang băn khoăn tự hỏi rồi thế giới sẽ đi về đâu. Covid 19 đã lấy đi nhiều thứ từ nhiều người. Bao nhiêu dự định trong cuộc đời của mỗi chúng ta đã không thành hiện thực. Chúng ta có những lo lắng cho sự an toàn của gia đình, anh em, bạn bè cũng như của chính mỗi cá nhân. Trong những lúc này, có lẽ ta phải tự đăt câu hỏi cho bản thân của mình. Ỹ nghĩa của cuộc đời là gì? Trong niềm tin, ta biết rằng Chúa tạo dựng nên con người để giúp đỡ lẫn nhau, đề cùng nhau vươn tới cùng đích cuối cùng là nước trời. Hơn bao giờ hết, đây là thời gian mỗi người cần quan tâm lẫn nhau nhiều hơn, yêu thương nhiều hơn để qua đó tình yêu Đức Kitô cho chúng ta được tỏ lộ cho nhiều người xung quanh ta.
We are living in the period of uncertainty, we sometimes asked ourselves where will the world be? Covid-19 takes away many things off many people. There are many plans that have been cancelled. We are worried for our families, brothers and sisters, friends and to ourselves. Perhaps, this is the time we can ask ourselves, what is the meaning of our lives? In our faith, we believe that we have been created to have the relationship with other people around us, we are here to help each other to move toward the kingdom of heaven. This is the time, we have to take care and love each other more and more. So that the love of Christ to us can shine in all the things that we do for other people around us.
Tongan
Rev Sanele Finau, Tongan Chaplaincy
Malo fau e ngaue fakataki kuo mou fai ki ho mou ngaahi komunio pea kou polepole ai – kataki pe he’ikai lava hoto fatongia atu kiate kimoutolu ‘oua siva ai ho’omou ‘amanaki ko Sesu ‘ena ‘oku ‘I taumu’a pe – Talaki pe mu’a ‘a Sesu ‘I he’etau lea pea mo ‘etau to’onga mo’ui. – ‘Ofa atu – sanele finau.
Cardinal John puts it beautifully and reminds us that even amidst the challenges and anxieties, the changes and the questions, bring the longings of your heart to the present moment and find the grace awaits for you there. Yes we tried to live one day at the time. As chaplain, I felt sorry for my people because I have nothing at all to share with them and I walk with them their difficult journey. I thank my people for the love and care they showed to others. My people just let your light Shine and live enjoy the present moment.