The Catholic Weekly 26 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 3 26, July, 2020 Mourners at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in Harris Park carry photographs of the three Abdallah children – Antony, 13, Angelina, 12 and Sienna, 8 – tragically killed in February. PHOTO: G PORTELLI Looking for a new Job? www.catholicjobsonline.com.au A MOTHER who lost three of her young children in a car crash in Sydney earlier this year has urged people to focus on their soul and build authentic faith. Leila Abdallah says it is her firm belief in God and heaven that has got her through the past six months. Her relative Bridget Sakr likewise told The Catholic Weekly that uniting her suf- fering with Christ’s gives her hope. The two grieving moth- ers say that the prayers of thousands of people around the world were granted in a miraculous healing for the 11-year-old survivor Char- bel Kassas. “Death is a reality that no one can escape, so focus ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Faith has kept us going more on your soul and build your faith because that is the only thing you will have left,” Mrs Abdallah said this week. Antony, Angelina and Si- enna Abdallah were killed with their cousin Veronique Sakr in the accident at Oat- lands in February. Charbel left Westmead Children’s Hospital in April after 80 days, defying doc- tors’ predictions of a much slower recovery. “It was through the power of prayer that Charbel woke up from his coma and prayer has definitely carried Danny and me through this tough time,” Mrs Abdallah said. The three families told their story in a Channel 7 news special, ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ which aired last Tuesday night. Bridget Sakr said the documentary was to hon- our “four beautiful children raised in Christian faith”. “I have united my suf- fering with the passion of Christ,” she said. “Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and en- tered into heaven to give us eternal life. “I know our children are in heaven with the Lord. “This tragedy has rein- forced for me that life on earth is finite, but life in heaven is eternal, death is no longer a stranger. “This gives me much courage and strength to con- tinue to carry my cross.” Mrs Abdallah said she has a better understanding of personal holiness. “You don’t need to a priest, you can be holy with- in your family, like Mother Teresa said, if you want to change the world love your family and then God will use you,” she said. “I had a pastor tell me that a photo of me kneel- ing down [at the Bettington Road site] in silence has preached what pastors and priests could not preach. “True faith shows itself in silence and actions, in lov- ing each other and staying humble.” Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP was among those paying tribute to the three families in the TV documen- tary. “They are inspirational ambassadors of Jesus Christ, showing us all the power of God’s grace to help us do extraordinary things in the most terrible of circum- stances.” LAPSED CATHOLIC Erin Rafferty is a character who is “really put through the wring- er” and illustrates how God never abandons those who suffer, says the writer who cre- ated her. Canberra author Veronica Smallhorn has tackled the in- tersection of modern relation- ships with the Church’s teach- ings on sexuality andmarriage with her first novel. A Channel of Your Peace is aimed at young women but she said it has also received a favourable response from men of different ages. She was inspired by the books of US-based Catholic author and publisher Ellen Gable to combine her desire to write with her love of the Church’s lived wisdom. “It’s not a romance somuch as a very Catholic story,” said ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Love and God star in novel Canberra author forges a new path in literature with first book Veronica Smallhorn holds a copy of her first novel, A Channel of Your Peace . Veronica who is also a natural family planning educator and wanted to share something of the value that it brings to a couple’s relationship and any children they have. Pro-life themes run strongly through- out the novel with Our Lady of Guadelupe, the patroness of the unborn, also making an appearance. “I always had a desire to write something that was faith-centred but assumed that a book like that wouldn’t be publishable until I read El- len’s books,” Veronica said. “I wanted to show how Je- sus is really in the midst of our suffering,” she said of her char- acter Erin. “My hope is to evangelise through fiction and hopefully inspire and uplift people.” Veronica, who lives with her husband Pablo and their three young children in Chisholm in Canberra’s south, has long wanted to write. She said her first published work was a Christmas poem that was printed in the local newspaper when shewas aged 11. Her book has been de- My hope is to evangelise through fiction and hopefully inspire and uplift people.” Veronica Smallhorn In brief Society backs PM’s call THE ST Vincent de Paul Society’s National Coun- cil has welcomed the ex- tension of the JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs by Prime Minister Scott Morrison onTuesday. But it warned that the principles of equity and fairness must not be put to one side in the current economic crisis. Existing arrangements will remain in place until the end of September, af- ter which time JobKeeper will be extended to March 2021 and JobSeeker to December 2020. The Society’s Nation- al Council CEO, Toby oConnor, acknowledged the assistance provided to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to date. But he questioned the different timeframes for the extension of both pay- ments. “At the end of the day, COVID affects everyone and both those payments should be in place till the end of March. It’s not clear why the JobSeeker arrangements have only been extended to Decem- ber this year,” he said. scribed as a strong debut nov- el and “masterfully written” by reviewers while Veronica said becoming a published author was a “dream come true”. Published by Full Quiver Publishing, A Channel of Your Peace is available via Amazon in paperback and ebook. NEWS