The Catholic Weekly 29 March 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 16 NEWS 29, March, 2020 Author has well and truly walked the walk LIVING AS a quadriplegic for over 40 years, Therese Wil- liams has endured physi- cal limitations but gained spiritual liberation by drawing closer to God. Williams, the author of Love Your Cross: How Suf- fering Became Sacrifice , de- veloped spinal meningitis at just 18 months old. The book recounts not only her life of affliction but also her spiritual journey and the personal re- lationship she cultivated with Christ. Williams said her spiritual director encouraged her to write the book, which was published by Tan Books in 2019, but it took some con- vincing, two times actually. The spiritual director toldWil- liams her story could impact many, including strangers. “I don’t think I have any- thing to say,” responded Wil- liams. “My life is ordinary, and I’m just living it. I don’t think there’s anything super spec- tacular about it.” The turning point in her de- cision-making came after Wil- liams concluded confession with her spiritual director, who again told her she should write the book. “This must be God speak- ing to me,” said Williams. “I better write the book.” She said her editor, Brian Gallagher, inspired the book title. Gallagher worked close- ly with Williams and later discovered her story encom- passed the cross. Williams agreed wholeheartedly. “This is what my parents have always taught me,” said Williams. “Priests over the years have inspired me, in- fluenced me to embrace the cross to really surrender my suffering in Jesus.” In the book, Williams men- tions suffering as the central theme of the Catholic faith. According to Williams, within that suffering, there is beauty ... the beauty of the crucifix. “When I look at a crucifix, I see Jesus’ unconditional love for me,” said Williams. Going to confession is “spiritually freeing” when one goes routinely, she said. “The more frequently we go to confession, the easier it is to humble ourselves in the sac- rament of reconciliation and seek the forgiveness that we need to draw closer to God,” said Williams who is a mem- ber of her local parish. The author said she has experienced three types of suffering: physical, emotional and spiritual. Williams ranked physical suffering as being the easiest to manage because there are ways to alleviate the pain, such as medication. Williams ranked emotional suffering as the hardest to en- dure because it affects one’s spiritual life. She described emotional suffering as ongoing, unbear- able agony that ultimately af- True grit: author Therese Wiliams, a quadriplegic for more than 40 years, has written a book which distils the spiritual journey and lessons she has learned form suffering. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/COURTESY THERESEWILLIAMS ¾ ¾ Sydney Clark In brief Vicar’s so hot, he’s on fire Bieber invites all THE REVEREND Stephen Beach of the Budeaux Par- ish Church in Plymouth, UK, a Church of Eng- land Parish, has become an internet sensation af- ter accidentally catching fire while live streaming a service online. Appear- ing next to a wooden cross and candles, the vicar lent too close to one candle, setting his sleeve ablaze. The Vicar and parish alike were unharmed with Rev. Beach stating mat- ter-of-factly, “Oh dear, I’ve just caught fire” before patting and blowing the fire out. - CNS POP STAR Justin Bieber invited his 130 million In- stagram followers to join him for an online church service. “By no means do you need to believe in what I believe but know you’re loved and more than welcome to join me as I watch church to- day!” Bieber wrote ahead of Pastor Judah Smith’s “Churchome” broad- cast. Introducing the pas- tor, Bieber said “I know a lot of people [watch- ing], whether they believe what we believe or not, are going to be impacted tremendously.” - CNS Find the career you deserve catholicjobsonline.com.au SEE OUR LATEST JOBS fects one’s relationship with God. “It cuts at the deepest core of your being, gets into your mind, plays all sorts of games with you, you start accusing yourself and others, and it constantly blocks your mind,” she said. To heal and resolve emo- tional suffering, according to Williams, one has to give up everything to Jesus because he knows what is inside of people’s hearts and minds. Hence, forming a relationship with God should be a priority over other relationships. Through her evolving rela- tionship with Christ, Williams has discovered she does not have to be fearful of anything. “If I really focus my atten- tion on Jesus, then I don’t have to be afraid of my phys- ical, emotional and spiritual needs being taken care of, because I trust that he will fill those needs for me,” said Wil- liams. She remains joyful because she knows God’s uncondi- tional love for her, she said, adding that this love extends to the people God brings into her life. Something Williams wants readers to take away from her book is the “feeling, reality and knowledge” that God is always present during times of suffering. “He’s not going anywhere,” said Williams. “I want people to be able to trust what God says to us. God doesn’t lie to us. God is only truth.” - CNS Give mercy, seek it, Francis urges MERCY, WHICH is at the heart of the Christian life, is not a one-dimensional virtue but instead is the acceptance of God’s love and the giving of that love to others, Pope Fran- cis said. “There is no Christianity without mercy,” the pope said during a live broadcast of his weekly general audience from the library of the Apostolic Palace. “If our Christianity does not lead us to mercy, we have taken the wrong path because mercy is the only true goal of every spiritual journey. It is one of the most beautiful fruits of charity,” he said. In his main talk, the pope continued his series on the Eight Beatitudes by reflecting on the fifth beatitude, “Bless- ed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” In his talk, the pope said that Jesus’ formulation of mercy as something recipro- cal makes it the only beatitude “in which the cause and the fruit of happiness coincide.” ¾ ¾ Junno Arocho Esteves However, he said, it is not the only time that Christ speaks about “the reciprocity of forgiveness.” It is found sev- eral times in the Gospels, par- ticularly in the Lord’s Prayer which says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” “There are two things that cannot be separated,” the pope explained. “The forgive- ness given and the forgiveness received. But many people find it difficult; they cannot forgive. “So many times, the evil received is so great that be- ing able to forgive seems like climbing a very high moun- tain. It’s an enormous effort. Some may think, ‘This is im- possible. I can’t do this.’” Forgiveness, he continued, cannot be achieved alone, and Christians must ask for the grace to forgive and be forgiven, because if “the fifth beatitude promises that we will findmercy and in the ‘Our Father’ we ask for our debts to be forgiven, that means that we are essentially debtors and we need to find mercy.” WORLD