This conundrum has often puzzled me. The general Gospel story is that Jesus and the apostles went by boat to a deserted spot on the shores of Lake Galilee, and a huge crowd travelling on foot got there before them.

It doesn’t make sense to me for two reasons,
firstly, going by foot has to be slower than going by boat
secondly, there’s this sense of surprise about Jesus seeing this big crowd, and surely a crowd that big would have been visible from the boat a long way off from the shore.

The Gospel for this coming Sunday, the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A, is one such account, this time from Matthew 14:13-21.

It is a more condensed account than some of the other accounts, and one thing struck me immediately. In this account of St Matthew, there is no preaching and teaching from Jesus. Something weird is going on.

As I plodded through the Greek to English trans-literation (thank you biblehub.com) I found a second weird thing, Matt 14:14 doesn’t actually say Jesus stepped ashore, it uses ‘exelthon’ a Greek verb that is usually translated as ‘to go out’ ‘to come out’ and in other New Testament places the same verb gets translated as ‘came out’, ‘came forth’, ‘went out’, ‘went forth’. Using ‘stepped ashore’ really isn’t a very good translation.

Later on in that same verse, it says that Jesus healed their sick. No one travelling with a sick person can go at speed. You have to go at their pace if they are limping or injured. You need more rest stops if they are in pain, and often more toilet stops and clean-up stops as well. Which also begs the question, why take your sick on such an arduous journey of many hours?

So it is time to have a look at what has been happening in this Gospel prior to Matt 14:13. We do know that the catalyst for this journey undertaken by Jesus and the Apostles was the news of St John the Baptist’s death.

After all the parables in Matt 13, Jesus had left the district and paid a visit to Nazareth, and in the first part of Matt 14 we have an account of the death of St John the Baptist. Therefore the lakeside towns had not seen Jesus for a little while.

What we do know is that the disciples of St John the Baptist got the news to Jesus, and by extension to those disciples of Jesus who had previously been disciples of John. Jesus and John were blood relatives, cousins, and several of the apostles would have looked upon John as a spiritual father. Due to these close connections, it is likely that this news got to Jesus before it got to the rest of the district, possibly by some of John’s disciples travelling in haste.

This put Jesus and those apostles into an official period of mourning, which is a week in length and known as shiva. During this time of shiva mourners are not expected to do much more than exist, but they do expect condolence visits from friends and relatives, and the visitors are expected to bring the food.

The news must have hit the apostolic company hard, and it seems like Jesus wasted no time in getting them off to a lonely spot where they could have some privacy to work through the initial waves of grief. They pack their travelling gear and they pack provisions and off they go. It seems reasonable that they park Peter’s boat and then head deep into the hills to sit shiva together.

Meanwhile, back in the lakeside towns of Galilee, the news of the death of St John the Baptist breaks. In their lifetime, a true prophet has been killed, one whom many of them had met, and all of them had heard of. It is shocking. In their bereft-ness, they want to try and make sense of this with Jesus. He’s not at home. Neither are the apostles, nor their travel gear. Peter’s boat isn’t moored in its usual place, but everyone knows what Peter’s boat looks like. It isn’t long before sailors and fishermen bring in the news of where Peter’s boat is now. The crowds aren’t stupid, they can put 2 and 2 together, and deduce that they are sitting shiva privately. But at some point shiva will end, and Jesus and the apostles will return to the boat, however there’s no guarantee that they are going to go back home.

But they will return to the boat, and the crowds can make educated guesses about when shiva will end. They could get themselves and their sick ones to that lonely place by then. And they need the reassurance that God is still in control. So travel plans are made, and off on foot they go. Plenty of them may have even camped out waiting for Jesus to reappear. Just like people get to places early to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks or Boxing Day sales. Some wish to offer condolence, some want their sick ones healed, some want reassurance.

Chances are that it took a little bit longer than expected for Jesus and the apostles to re-emerge. Likely too that the foot-travellers’ provisions were close to empty. We know that the apostles’ provisions were empty, because if they filled twelve baskets full of scraps, it stands to reason they were empty to begin with. It is another reason that the shiva concept makes sense. If they had just arrived, those baskets would have been full, not empty but for 5 loaves and 2 fish. The actual word used for these baskets is ‘kophinous’, the kind of baskets to carry kosher food that travellers used.

In this scenario, the timing makes sense, the size of the crowd makes sense, the coming forth of Jesus from seclusion makes sense, the absence of teaching and preaching makes sense, and the filling of the baskets makes sense.

This was a ministry time of presence to the people, listening to their fears, their grief and anxiety, and healing those sick ones who had made the difficult journey.

But there’s no food!

And food is definitely a part of shiva! Visitors are encouraged to bring food that is crowd pleasing and which can easily be served and shared, and to avoid food that requires work on the part of the mourners.

The 7 days of shiva might be closing for Jesus and the apostles, but it is likely that it is still within shiva for the crowd – assuming that Jesus got the news of St John the Baptist’s death at least half a day, and maybe up to 2 days before the crowd did.

God provides the food, through the miracle. Bread that is easy to serve and easy to share. What a thought! That through this miracle God the Father is sitting shiva together with His people over the death of St John the Baptist, and thereby consoling them in an extraordinary way. What a memorable wake for the prophet who heralded Jesus!

If you are in grief right now, let that truth sink in. Jesus knew how to mourn, and he fully entered into the process, it is OK to grieve, and He mourns with you, and He will provide for you.

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P.S. Remember. This is according to St Matthew’s account. The accounts in the other Gospels have different contexts and different purposes.

Why do You talk to them in parables?

This is a question the disciples put to Jesus in the 13th Chapter of St Matthew’s Gospel. Many of us still ask that question.

Part of the answer is that human beings were made to love puzzles. We find in ancient cultures deep appreciation for the riddle, and in biblical cultures appreciation for teaching through use of mashal or allegory. Consider the modern equivalent, the meme, which we all like trying to decode, even if we don’t always succeed at it.

A good parable is something that you chew over, and look at from different angles, with a group of friends or relatives, sharing insights and arguing over meaning and interpretation. They are, in essence, discussion starters.

But St Matthew’s Gospel provides us with a reasonable answer to why Jesus used parables, and why after a period of public ministry without parables He started using them almost exclusively.

The beginning of Chapter 13 says, ‘that same day, Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round Him that He got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the shore, and He told them many things in parables’.

So what happened earlier that day?

Chapter 12 has Jesus curing a blind and dumb demoniac and then He gets accused of being Beelzebul, and then the scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign (none of the previous healings and miracles are enough for them, they want to set the conditions for a sign they will accept, God has to dance to their tune first before they will consider dancing to His), and then family members demand words with Him, so it hasn’t exactly been a good day for Jesus. For all His efforts up to this point don’t seem to be bearing the fruits of repentance He has been looking for, otherwise He would not in Chapter 11 have called down reproaches upon the Galilean towns where most of His miracles had been worked.

In order for any of us to get closer to God in our lives, something has to change. If we do the same things, how can we expect different outcomes? Yet frequently our response is, ‘I don’t want to change’, ‘I don’t need to change’, ‘there’s nothing in my life that needs changing’, ‘I am quite content as I am thanks, quit trying to upset my equilibrium’, ‘the person sitting over there needs more change than I do’. And this seems to be exactly what Jesus was facing, crowds of people happy to see miracles happen, and happy to listen to good teaching, and happy to continue doing so, (Jesus had very high entertainment value), but very few allowing that teaching to transform the way they were living.

So we see Jesus in that post lunch / siesta time go and sit by the lakeside, letting prayer and natural beauty do their work in freeing Him from the frustrations of the morning. It is a time of pause. It is a time of re-set. It is time to try a different approach to the hearts of His listeners.

The easy to understand stuff, the sermon on the mount, the miracles and healings, haven’t born the expected levels of fruit. Something different is needed, something that engages hearts and minds more, something that requires some personal effort.

As Jesus sits on the lakeside, gradually the crowd gathers behind Him, and an expectancy grows. This time when Jesus preaches, it is different. This time He begins to use parables.

The first parable, the sower and the seed, is very instructive.

What is the purpose of sowing seed? To get a good harvest. And where is that good harvest?

It isn’t in those who aren’t paying attention (seed on the path).

It isn’t in those who get excited about what Jesus is saying, and then do nothing much about it (seed on rocky ground with little depth) or fall away very quickly.

It isn’t in those who make a start, and good progress, and then give up halfway through the process (seed among thorns).

It is in those who go through the whole process of transformation, in those who wrestle with the words of Jesus until they come to understanding, and then let that understanding change the way they live.

And how do you get to that sort of harvest? By using parables.

Because those who aren’t interested won’t bother.
 
Because those who want quick and easy answers will give up without much of a struggle.

Because those who will give it a go, and attempt to come to understanding, but who fail to reach full understanding because the cost of change is beyond them, will sooner or later give up.

Because those who patiently work at understanding, and who persevere at it, until the understanding fully comes and who then change their lives accordingly, they are the kind of disciples you really want. And using parables is an efficient way of finding them. These are the ones who make mature commitment to discipleship, and the process takes time, it isn’t quick.

Parables are how you find disciples from among the crowds.

There are at least two implications for us:

Firstly, that if the word of God is not challenging us nor changing us, then we haven’t understood it properly. Jesus really wants to see fruits of repentance in us. Why? Because change is the gateway to the kingdom of God and our greatest happiness. ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand’ is what both Jesus and John the Baptist preached.

Secondly, if you issue a call to action, the ones you want aren’t in the first wave of responders, nor in the second wave of responders, the ones you really want are in the third wave of responders, on them alone can you build something that will last.

Knowing how to sift true from false prophecy is something that everyone needs. It may be easier to understand if some case studies are used.

This need came to my attention through a friend who had been sent an unsolicited prophetic word by an email. The friend had no idea where the prophet had obtained the email address from. However, it was a lengthy piece, and it spoke into all the hopes and frustrations this friend was experiencing, ie it was exactly what the friend wanted to be true.

Thankfully the friend had the courage to share it with me.

The very first thing after reading the prophetic word and ascertaining that it contained nothing specifically pertaining to the life of this friend, ie there was nothing in it that couldn’t easily be applied to the life of just about anyone else (warning flag 1) was to search the internet for what could be learned about the prophet.

The website had a pleasant feel, and a link to what must be a very inspiring conversion story, and some very basic Christian teaching without any perceived denominational biases. But it did contain a few things that gave me significant pause; a few very general prophetic words that were undated, no contact information or details, and no affiliation with any faith community.

It is so unusual for a prophetic word to be undated (warning flag 2). No address, no social media links, no email address, no contact form where you would expect it to be (ie an easily visible Contact page), but given bit by bit under a ‘please support this ministry’ sub-page that begins by asking for donations (warning flag 3). There is no indication on the website that the prophet is part of a faith community, in leadership of a faith community, or anything other than a lone ranger. Ideally a prophet should have a regular small group to which he/she is personally accountable, and should also be under some form of leadership to whom he/she is also accountable. Otherwise there are none of the normal and natural checks and balances that come from community life where people are invested in you enough to ask the odd quiet question if you are looking like going off the rails, or when your walk doesn’t match your talk. (major warning flag 4).

If something is exactly what you want to hear, (eg in order for the destiny God has for you to unfold, don’t let anyone box you in to their mindsets) and it doesn’t contain any invitation to transformation that leads to a deeper relationship with God, that should put up a warning flag too. It is a hallmark of the Gospel accounts that Jesus always invited people to the next level of relationship with Him, requiring either a change of heart or a change of life.

There were enough warning flags to safely dismiss and delete that email.

Around the internet at present there is a set of major ‘doom and gloom’ prophecies going around. The prophet is not a regular prophet, but is in leadership with a Christian community, and has had some vivid dreams that were felt to be prophetic for a national and global scale.

Can God call anybody to deliver a message? Yes, He can, for example the prophet Amos. However, it is more usual for an important wake-up call kind of message to be given to someone who is mature in the prophetic gifting and widely recognised as such, with a reasonable track record for accuracy.

There is also a difference between a Jonah-like warning message that invites to repentance and a Daniel-like message declaring that God’s judgement on bad behaviour is going to manifest in specific ways. Neither are certain; the former can be mitigated or even avoided by repentance (Ninevah); the latter can be mitigated by intercession (2 Sam 24). But even the most dire of messages warning of austere times to come contain an inkling of hope, that after punishment and exile that there would be restoration and return (Jeremiah).

However if the prophet reveals that his/her consumption of news media is greater than his/her consumption of God’s word in scripture, then extra caution is required.

Many years back this lesson was given to me. It happened like this. The community I was a member of at that time was receiving lots of apocalyptic sounding prophecy. It somehow happened that I was able to have a chat to one of the most accredited prophets in that community about all this apocalyptic stuff. His response was that many in the community had been reading the same spiritual/devotional literature that contained that kind of language. The ideas you consume eventually come out again, and often get processed in dreams and can be expressed in prophecy. And that was what had been happening in that community situation. You can see it too in less mature prophets who drink in what a lot of other prophets are releasing online. Sometime down the track, all of that prophetic soup will emerge in a very generic prophecy (and very sincerely given) that is a reasonable summary of the main flavours of the soup.

Such known human weaknesses do make it less clear to discern whether God is telling everyone the same message (in which case, Pay Attention!!!), or whether everyone has collectively gone off on a non-God inspired tangent. For this reason, keep aware of times of the liturgical year that various messages arise.

Sometimes they are collective wishful thinking born of deep desire to see God act in powerful ways, as what often happens as Easter, Pentecost and Christmas draw near or something related to the Jewish liturgical calendar. You see this big crescendo of expectation, and then as the special date passes, there is a lull until someone comes out with a statement that the date was still very important, and we will find out why in due time things didn’t manifest in the natural and there’s even bigger and better things coming in a month or 3 months’ time. Yes, it is easy to become cynical, but we do have to fight against that lest we dismiss a true message from God. That’s why growing in discernment is so important and so necessary.

Discernment can take time. And it is easy for us to get it wrong.

Just recently I have had to sadly acknowledge that someone I had on my short list of trusted online prophets was no longer worthy of being on that list. When the messages are exactly what you want to hear, and those messages get picked up and promoted by others and there are online followers in the order of tens of thousands, then of course you are biased towards the messages being true prophecy. But slowly some question marks began to arise. The first question marks happened when some of my cautionary comments that had logical merit were rejected out of hand. The second question marks began when there were more lists of how to do this or how to respond to that, which were all just human thoughts. The third set of question marks began when ‘sign up for my online course’ appeared at the end of prophetic messages, and it was an almost seamless segue. The final question marks were due to the disclosure by way of sharing personal background that this was, despite friendships and recognition from other prophets in good standing, very much a lone ranger ministry although it was couched in pioneer terminology. So I went back and took a more detailed look at the associated website, and the lack of accountable relationships became apparent.

It is like this, as far as possible there should be no conflict of interest between the ministry of a prophet and the way a prophet earns a living. The whole ‘God showed me how to deal with issue X in a whole new and effective way, but you need to pay $$ before I will share it with you’ thing flies in the face of ‘you received without charge, give without charge’ Matt 10:8. At the same time, a labourer is worthy of his hire, so there is no objection to a Donate/Give page. But when the prophet’s main source of income is online mentoring courses or similar, how can the prayers and natural desires for a good sign-up rate not transmute consciously or unconsciously into the prophetic messages, particularly when those messages are squarely aimed at hidden and forgotten ones who have a big destiny in God’s plan? Isn’t this what we all long to hear when we feel that life has passed us by, thus making us very vulnerable and susceptible to exploitation?

Then again, some things are presented as prophecy, when in fact all they are is teaching or preaching on some topic of the life of faith. Weigh it for what it is, not what it purports to be.

In this age of prophets with some celebrity status, it is well to remember that popularity is not a guarantee of accuracy. In the time of Jeremiah there were plenty of prophets announcing times of prosperity ahead, and only Jeremiah repeating God’s warning that the punishment of exile for their sins was coming. Of course the people of that time wanted to listen to the other prophets who spoke what they wanted to hear, and of course they wanted to shut Jeremiah up by any means necessary.

There will be times of restoration and refreshing, just as there will be times of trial and testing, therefore the maxim, ‘test everything, and hold onto what is good’ has to be our guide, as well as frequent prayers for guidance and discernment.

Why is the accountability thing so important? Because a true prophet is going to have enough humility to mistrust his/her own judgement, and be open to correction and submission/obedience to leadership. Even the best of prophets don’t get it 100% right every time (1 Cor 13:9). Obedience to lawful human authority despite what the prophet believes God has told him/her is the ultimate test of legitimacy. If it is of God it will come to pass, despite setbacks, delays and misunderstandings. Any prophet who thinks that everything they receive is always 100% from God is deluding themselves, and a big danger to themselves and others. Do you know what the worst punishment is from God? To be let drift into error. Because unless someone intercedes for you, there’s no way out. (read St John of Avila’s ‘Listen Daughter’ a.k.a. ‘Audi Filia’ for the best ever explanation of this.) Even Moses had his father-in-law Jethro as someone willing to speak truth into his life.

Now should a prophet make a grand prediction, and it doesn’t come to pass, eg a major share market crash during the visit of a specified world leader, then said prophet is automatically and completely discredited.

Particularly when it comes to dreams and visions, it can be crucial to separate the raw material of the prophecy from the interpretation of the prophecy. Quite often the raw material is correct, but the interpretation is incorrect or immature (ie the prophet has only grasped the first layer of the interpretation and not yet the underlying layers of interpretation.) In essence they are similar to parables. With time and diligent prayer, usually the full meaning comes to light.

Sometimes a prophecy (particularly to a community) is an invitation to go deeper, and the ‘more’ that God intended doesn’t happen because the response to the prophecy was mismanaged. For example, someone in that community who has been growing in the prophetic gifting shares that God has shown a vision of angels, surrounding the prayer meeting, who are waiting to be sent on assignment. Responding with a call to those at the prayer meeting to present their petitions to God is level 1. If you took that word seriously you would them get the prophet back and ask if there were any angels left, and if so, how many? (level 2) and if the answer wasn’t zero, you should then either get the people to petition some more, or better yet, ask the community to pray for wisdom in order to petition according to God’s desires (level 3) and delegate a leader to question the prophet about any details not disclosed in the initial message (ask if the angels were all the same size?, were they perhaps in groups?, was there anything to distinguish the groups eg colour, what they were holding?) which might give clues to the How to pray. If there is any sense that this might be a more significant word than first ascertained, then and there, or soon afterwards, get the prophet to have a go at drawing what they saw in as much detail as possible, and then share both the verbal and drawn parts with leadership and other prophets to pray over, discuss and ask further questions. After all, if it was God’s intention to lead the group into prolonged and specific intercession for local political leaders and business leaders, or for the bringing down of some stronghold that was preventing the conversion of the region, and everyone prayed for those they knew in personal, financial or family stress, then that was a comparatively poor outcome.

Some prophecies don’t find fulfilment for a year or several years, some don’t find fulfilment in our lifetimes. Because of this, some interpretations take a while to become clear. For example, St Catherine Laboure was convinced that much needed funds would appear if an area was dug down to a certain level. Everyone else thought she was crazy to keep insisting upon it. Yet in the years ahead, that area was the place where her body was buried, and not too long after a very sizable donation was anonymously placed on her tomb.

Care should be exercised when reading prophecies from years past and seeing in them relevance for today. That can indeed happen. However it is also possible that the mindset with which you read it today prejudices you into believing that it is solely about the current times. For example the pandemic situation the world has recently found itself in has seen a lot of re-evaluation of past prophecies. Many of them read like they were written for us today, and some of the phrases that were glossed over back then, now seem to carry increased meaning (eg A great shaking happening among the nations, and peoples locked down by a spirit of fear). ‘Lockdown’ carries a whole new level of meaning now that it didn’t pre-Covid19, as does ‘lawlessness’ in the wake of the George Floyd riots. Yet there is no guarantee that this is the only era it was meant for, or even if it was the primary era it was meant for.

We do know that God never takes back or revokes His gifts, and that He always invites us to grow. The intended life cycle of a prophet is that as they grow in experience, they also grow in holiness, and weightier and more important prophetic words can be given through them. However this doesn’t always happen; what started out relatively pure can become increasingly sullied with human frailty and error; or what started out pure can go through a wilderness period away from the moral life and then re-emerge stronger than ever after a sincere conversion. Sometimes there will be only a single season of profound revelation, and then no more, if that is God’s plan for them. St Bernadette is an example of this; and saw herself as a broom that was used by God for a while, and then put away. Always the revelation is firstly for the prophet, and then for others. If the prophet is growing in response to the revelation, and growing in holiness and in moral character, it is an indication that what they are receiving is God inspired.

If God is trying to get a message across, He will use more than one messenger, and probably from diverse sources. Therefore, if a message is of a personal nature, it will confirm something He has already called you to do, or in time to come it will be confirmed via other sources. So never change your life on the strength of a single unconfirmed word. Write it down, store it somewhere, refer back to it every 3-6 months, it may make more sense then. If it doesn’t, and there haven’t been any confirmations of it, you can safely forget all about it.

These are only general guidelines born of experience for sifting out the questionable. For every general guideline there are exceptions, because God is not limited and He sometimes chooses to use the unusual or discredited to get our attention and loosen our pre-conceived ideas.

Here are some scriptural reminders that the gift of prophecy is a good gift from God, and needed, and worth the effort of time in discernment and interpretation:

1 Thess 5:19-21 Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt: think before you do anything – hold on to what is good.

2 Peter 1:19b-20 You will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds. At the same time, we must be most careful to remember that the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual.

I Cor 14:3 The man who prophesies does talk to other people, to their improvement, their encouragement and their consolation.

1 Cor 14:32 Prophets can always control their prophetic spirits, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
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For more detailed guidance on prophecy, interpretation and discernment, please read the attached document, particularly pages 11-16 and pages 18-20.

Recently (July 9) the liturgical calendar had an optional memorial celebration for St Augustine Zhao Rong and companions, martyrs. Since the name didn’t ring any bells for me, I thought I should find out a bit more.

Other ‘and companions’ memorials have grown in our collective consciousness over the years. For some reason, it seems to take time for us to start celebrating them with gusto. To now not celebrate St Charles Llwanga and companions, St Paul Miki and companions, St Andrew Kim Taegon and companions, St Andrew Dun Lac and companions would be unthinkable. St Lawrence Ruiz and companions and St Christopher Magallanes and companions are still finding their place in our hearts, but have made recognizable in-roads.

St Augustine Zhao Rong and companions were canonized on 1 Oct 2000 by St John Paul II. Most of our missals and lives of the saints books were published prior to that date, which means that there is little printed information around, and all that we have are internet stories that don’t reference primary source documents.

Unlike some of the other ‘and companions’ lists, the 119 who died as martyrs in China didn’t die on the same day, nor during the same persecution. However they are representative of many more who died as martyrs in China between 1648 and 1930.

This comes from the Roman Martyrology
“In China, in Sichuan province, remembrance of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, priest and martyr, who, infuriating the persecution, because of his faith in Christ was thrown into prison, where he found a glorious death during winter.”

We can take that as fact.

It doesn’t help that there are several dates of remembrance for St Augustine Zhao Rong (27 January, 21 March, 9 July, 28 September) nor that he is also known as St Augustine Tchao, St Augustin Rong Zhao and St Augustinus Zhao.

He heads the list of martyr companions because he is the first native Chinese priest with a provable record of martyrdom.

There are two stories circulating about the internet concerning St Augustine Zhao Rong. One of them just doesn’t add up, or doesn’t add up yet, and the other is more plausible.

The first one goes something like this:
Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to his martyrdom in Beijing. Not long after his baptism, Augustine was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815.

St Augustine Zhao Rong was martyred very early in 1815, the actual date is unknown, only that it was in the coldest part of the year before spring began.

St John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse was martyred 14 September 1815 in Sichuan province. This province is in south western China, but closer to the middle of China than to the Chinese border. Sichuan is a long way from Beijing.

The bishop had been arrested (prior to becoming a bishop in 1798) way back in 1784/85, and imprisoned for six months, and sent to Beijing. But this is well after 1781, the year when St Augustine Zhao Rong was ordained.

So the story doesn’t add up, unless Fr Dufresse had another, earlier imprisonment that hasn’t yet made it into the history books.

In all likelihood there is another of the 119 companions for whom this account is true, and it just got copied/translated down in the wrong place under the wrong name.

The second story is far more plausible, and it goes like this:
St Augustine Zhao Rong was born in 1746 in Wuchuan, China, into a pagan family. When he was 20 years old, he got a job serving in a country prison. When a religious persecution began in 1772, many Christians were arrested and Zhao Rong was appointed to guard them. Among the Catholic prisoners was their missionary, Martinus Moye, (or Mei), who preached the gospel to all his fellow prisoners. Many were converted. Zhao Rong also listened and was intrigued.

Later Mei was released from prison and Zhao Rong left to visit him and continue their discussions of Christianity. In 1776 he received his baptism and confirmation on August 28 and the name Augustine. He continued to grow in faith and became a good helper to both Mei and Matthew Lou. Mei noticed his firm belief and decided to teach him Latin, and he also explained the Bible to him. In 1779, there was a famine and plague in Sichuan. Augustine was sent there to help, and he baptized many dying infants.

Having completed the necessary theological studies, he was ordained a priest on 10 May 1781.

He distinguished himself as a preacher, since his words moved tears to listeners with the story of the passion of Jesus. It is said that when he visited a Christian community he spent three days with them, emphasizing the basics of the faith, viz the 10 commandments, the 7 cardinal sins, the sacrament of penance, the holy Eucharist and the sufferings of Jesus and sharing the scriptures with them. Father Augustine was sent to the western part of Sichuan, to assist in the conversion of the native peoples of that mountainous region.

Augustine would have had a working relationship with Bishop Dufresse, since he was the bishop of Sichuan province from around 1800 until his 1815 martyrdom, which is why Augustine formed part of the 12 companions beatified by Pope Leo XIII with Bishop Dufresse in 1900.

When the fresh persecution broke out, Augustine was arrested and had to endure terrible torture. He was returned to prison, but by then he was in his late 60s and already ill, he died in prison. By the time the death sentence issued by the mandarin was confirmed by the emperor, Augustine was already dead.


Hopefully in the years to come, the primary documents relating to the life and martyrdom of St Augustine Zhao Rong will come to light, and be correctly translated. In the meantime, this feast day of his and the other martyrs of China is an encouragement to us and a reminder to pray for the peoples of China and to give thanks for all those who have sacrificed their lives spreading the Gospel to them.
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St Augustine Zhao Rong and companions, pray for us.

Felix Anthony Seady 19 Jan 1918 – 14 Jun 2020

Many locals would remember Felix Seady. He went to his eternal reward on 14 June 2020 at the age of 102 years, 4 months and 26 days. Up until his 100th birthday he was in extraordinary health, but dementia was beginning to kick in, so soon afterwards they moved into aged care to be closer to family. His funeral took place at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Randwick, and it is likely that he was buried at Botany.
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In this blog post I want to bring together as much information about Felix as possible, because not everything stays online for ever. To that end I will include copies of online records below to assist in preserving them. 

Felix was born in South Africa during the final year of WW1, and when WW2 arrived he enlisted and served as a Sapper Sergeant. This involved handling explosives. He spent time in a German Stalag as a prisoner of war. In 1945 when the prisoners were to be marched to a new location, together with another p.o.w., an escape plan was hatched. It was daring, but it worked.

(He wrote about this amazing experience for a local newspaper, see below for the text and for the link)

The following year he married Sadah, and they had almost 74 years together with a wedding anniversary in August 1946. After the war Felix studied and attained an Engineering Certificate and a Technical Teachers Certificate. Sometime between 1946 and 1963 they came to Australia. In 1968 they became Australian citizens. According to the electoral roll, Felix worked as a teacher, and they moved around a fair bit, from Fairy Meadow (1963, 1968) to Carlingford (1977) and Normanhurst (1977) before retiring on the Central Coast.
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They had children. There is a Mark Seady with the same residential address who took citizenship with them in 1968 (probable son) and a Jennifer Ann Seady with the same residential address on one of the 1977 electoral rolls (probable daughter). 

Here they are, on their way into vigil Mass on 26 Apr 2015, still dressed up after some Anzac Day related activities.

In retirement they began a long association with the local bowling club, resulting in Felix becoming a life member, and he was also active in veteran's activities becoming a life patron of Zone 5 RSL.
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Every year, without fail, even if it meant getting a taxi, Felix would go to Mass on his birthday in thanksgiving to God for the gift of life. Every Saturday vigil, he and Sadah were at church greeting everyone like long lost and much loved relatives. Their love and joy was so infectious that just being near them felt like being at a good party. They danced through life far more than they walked through it. Cheerfulness and gratitude were hallmarks of their lives. In deference to age and fragilty, they would discreetly slip out of Mass after Communion, so that they wouldn't get caught in the post-Mass crush through the exit door.

Here they are at morning Mass on Felix's 100th birthday, 19 Jan 2018.

They were human, too. Often they would go to a local club for a meal, and order two meals. One for them to share there and then, and the other to take home. But there would normally be some gentle bickering about which meal they would share first. In conversation, sometimes Felix would say something and Sadah would roll her eyes, and vice versa.

As a parish and as a family we were privileged to have known them both, and to experience the grace of the sacrament of marriage flowing out through them to everyone they came in contact with.

Our hearts go out to Sadah in her grief, and we ask that God may grant Felix the depths of His mercy. Amen.

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http://www.centralcoastnews.net/2018/02/12/bowling-club-celebrates-members-100th-birthday/
POSTED BY: CENTRAL COAST NEWSPAPERS FEBRUARY 12, 2018
More than 60 people gathered at the Woy Woy Bowling Club on Sunday, February 4, for a lunch to celebrate the 100th birthday of long-term club member, Mr Felix Seady.
Mr Seady and his wife, Sada, had a great day with his many friends and family members.
The event started with a rousing rendition of the South African national anthem, followed by speeches from good friends Mr Mick Dunks, Mr John Orme and Mr Jim Cassidy.
It was announced that Mr Seady had been made a life member of the Woy Woy Men’s Bowling Club and he was presented with a plaque to mark the occasion.
He was also presented with a copy of a newspaper published on his birthday back in 1918.
Felix and Sada arrived at the club by trike, courtesy of club member Scott Bollom.
SOURCE:
Media release, 6 Feb 2018
Ken Dixon, Woy Woy Men’s Bowling Club

https://www.facebook.com/10NewsFirstSyd/posts/felix-and-sadah-seady-are-about-to-celebrate-their-73rd-wedding-anniversarybig-t/10157132542825259/
16 August 2019
Felix and Sadah Seady are about to celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary.
“Big time!” laughs Felix, who is 101-years-young, and almost always holding his 96 -year -old wife’s hand. And their secret to a long and very happy life together may astound you. It’s not all wedded bliss – and that’s the key.
(There was a Channel 10 News Item on them, only accessible via Facebook, Ali Donaldson reporter)
 
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2018/01/bowling-club-celebrate-100-year-old-ex-serviceman/
Bowling club to celebrate 100-year-old ex-serviceman
JANUARY 18, 2018
Woy Woy Bowling Club is holding a special celebration in honour of local man, Mr Felix Seady, from 12pm on Sunday, February 4.
Mr Seady has been a member of the club for over 20 years and has just recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Mr Seady is a World War II veteran who escaped a German prisoner-of-war camp.
Following his escape, he was able to pass along vital intelligence to the British Forces which saw him receive a special mention from King George VI.
Member for Robertson Ms Lucy Wicks is seeking a special congratulation for Mr Seady from the Queen.
Mr Seady has reflected on his long life in a letter to the Peninsula News.
“I was born in a small town, Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, just inland near Port Elizabeth on the January 19, 1918.
“When the Second World War was declared I joined a unit of the South African Engineers named the 2nd Field Company.
“We were trained in the use of explosives, particularly land mines, used to destroy tanks and heavy vehicles.
“We were shipped to Egypt and became involved in desert warfare immediately.
“On my birthday in 1942, I had a narrow escape from being blown up by a German Springer Mine.
“This mine is buried deeper. It fires a charge into the base of the mine which blasts it out of the ground like a missile that explodes above the ground, killing everyone nearby,” Mr Seady recalled.
“In my case, the secondary fuse failed. My guardian angel must have been sitting on it.
“One of our major operations was the capture of a fortress town called Bardia, on the coast near Tibruk.
“It was very similar to the famous Tobruk with minefields and barbed wire etc.
“I was in command of one team of 12 sappers.
“My title was Sapper Sergeant,” he continued.
“We went in before dawn under a barrage of artillery, occasionally a shell would land short. It was hair raising.
“We destroyed the mines with an explosive mat and cleared the barbed wire with four explosive torpedos.
“We made these ourselves, using a four-inch water pipe stuffed with TNT explosive, four meters long.
“They were called Bangalore Torpedos.
“They were pushed through the barbed wire, about two metres apart and detonated.
“The barbed wire was actually disintegrated.
“Our tanks and trucks poured through the gaps and within two days the enemy surrendered.
“I was honoured by the British King for my participation in this action and awarded a Mention in Dispatches.
“We were in a defence line at Gazala, just west of Tobruk, when Rommel attacked us by going deep into the desert.
“I was left behind with six Sappers to destroy the pass at the top of the defence line.
“Unfortunately, once we had done that, the Rommel tanks had cut off our escape route and we were the only prisoners-of-war of our company, housed at Stalag IV in Germany, just south of Hamburg.
“We were privileged to witness the 1000 bomber raids over Germany.
“The American Airforce by day and the RAF by night.
“It was difficult to realise that 1000 bombers occupied the sky from horizon to horizon and it went on without stop for 24 hours.
“Of course, the daylight bombers were spectacular with their vapour trails.
“These bombers certainly caused the German Army to put an end to the conflict,” Mr Seady said.
Mr Seady also reflected on his time imprisoned at Scheissen Block.
“Our toilet at Stalag IV consisted of a concrete tank about 20 metres by 10 metres by four metres high.
“The top was covered with wood with rows of rectangular holes for us to use.
“No roof nor walls.
“The contents of this concrete tank were pumped by hand into a tank on wheels drawn by a cow.
“The odorous and messy operation was done by a squad of five Russian POW’s.
“The contents were sprayed outside the Stalag on a vegetable farm
“The vegetables seemed to thrive on the organic fertilizer.
“Our food was a soup and the vegetables were from the farm.
“Very tasty,” he joked.
“Early in 1945, we heard that we were going to be moved northwards to the Baltic Coast.
“What’s more, there would be no transport. We would be walking.
“That was the final straw.
“Another South African POW was a good friend said to me, that we must escape on the march and I agreed.
“It would be dangerous because we would be shot if we failed.
“Then God stepped in with a better plan.
“The Stalag consisted of three compounds each housing a few thousand POW’s.
“We were to be evacuated one compound a day.
“We were in number three compound and would be the last.
“We watched the evacuation of compounds one and two.
“After these were completed, the dogs were brought in during the evening into compounds one and two and checked for escapees, then again checked the next morning,” Mr Seady said.
“When night fell, we dug a small trench under the single fence between compounds two and three.
“We slid through easily, being sleek and thin.
“We filled in the evacuation and smoothed over the earth.
“We then dug a small trench under a selected bungalow; the bungalows were two feet above the ground to prevent tunnelling.
“Then our secret weapon, anti-lice powder.
“The Germans gave us this vile smelling powder to kill body lice, which was bearable.
“Most POWS never used the powder, they preferred the lice so there was plenty of lice powder available.
“We sprinkled copious amounts of lice powder under the bungalow.
“When they brought the dogs in, the dogs would not go under into the lice powder as we lay in our shallow trench in the middle under the bungalow.
“The same happened the next morning with the dogs.
“We laid the powder under the bungalow until that night.
“Then we set out westwards toward the invasion forces.
“We were lucky to come across a storehouse with some food and we never moved in the day until we noticed some British tanks on the road.
“We called to them in English and they responded.
“We came out of hiding, with our hands in the air.
“They made such a fuss of us and radioed for a transport.
“We told them there were no German armoured vehicles in the area and we were then transported in a jeep to a nearby airport, and then flown to England.
“After a few weeks we were flown to South Africa in an old Dakota.
“It took five days, then home,” Mr Seady recalled.
“The army gave me leave, pending demobilisation, and I slowly returned to normal.
“On demobilisation, I went back to work for the South African Railways, who had kept my job open, but with a difference.
“I had been promoted as a draughtsman in the Chief Engineers Head Office in Pretoria.
“I continued my studies, part time at night at the Technical College and eventually obtained an Engineering Diploma and a Technical Teachers Certificate.
“I had applied for a grant to attend University, but to no avail.
“The National Party won the 1948 elections and South African ex-servicemen were not the flavour of the decade.
“Even before the Nationals got in, we received no help whatsoever.
“So ended my war experiences, which played a major part in my life.
“So many of us went to war, experienced traumatic episodes and came back quite different people.
“I still keep up membership in ex-service organisations and enjoy our regular get togethers where we share memories of those times.
“Writing this account was mainly for my family, but it has made me realise that fellow ex-servicemen would also enjoy sharing this narrative,” Mr Seady concluded.
SOURCE:
Media release, 12 Jan 2018
Anne Jenkins, Woy Woy Bowling Club