January 8^th, 2016,

My boss at Kelsey Hayes, Bill Byers,  had a saying on his desk that, I think, applies to me here now. The hurrier I go the behinder I get. Ha! Life has been going too fast and I am already behind and the new year has already gone into first gear.

Let me summarize it this way. Katrina was on an emotional roller coaster as the school closed and she had to say goodbye to all the kids. Tough job. Also, we spent a good bit of time together going around from family to family saying goodbye—all people that had taken her into their homes and hearts. She had become part of mor families than she could count. And I became more and more proud of her.

For me, it was a Christmas rush, preparing Masses and liturgies for one feast after another, in both languages, English and Zulu. It takes time, you know, to think things through and then to give a decent sermon or homily on such special days.

Again, before and after Christmas, we visited sometimes 3 or 4 families in one day. Then came the departure day. One of the families that had taken her in as if she was their daughter, Logan and Rajes Govender (and their son) took us all to the airport in a bigger car than I have. We got there in plenty of time and had a cup of coffee and some time to chat.We waited, purposely, up till into boarding time so that we wouldn’t have to look each other in the eye and start you know what. We said our goodbyes quickly before tears could come and then she was off and out of sight. Then we were left to our own emptiness. That was the 29^th of December.

She had tried to put in some sim cards that would work in the States and even here but there was no communication for a long time, except for one quick notice (I don’t know how she sent it, maybe borrowed someone’s phone) that she had been very rudely served a document that said that she was an “undesirable person” (persona non grata) and would not be allowed to return to south Africa for five years. They asked her to sign this document, which she didn’t understand, so she asked them what she was signing and that’s what they told her. They also said that she could appeal, period. Damn!!! But then , silence. Eventually we connected again and she had drafted a letter to somewhere appealing this decision. She sent it off by email to some address but never got an answer back as to whether it was received or not. So we are trying to follow up on that now.

In the meantime, I have been back where I started in 1967, at St. Mary’s hospital for Mass every morning and visiting the sick there. I was asked by the chaplain to take his place while he went on home leave and for a retreat till 27^th January. Then I discovered that he won’t be back. He has been assigned to another parish far away from here. I suspect that they are thinking that I will just slide in and take over the responsibility of doing the job there but I won’t. I have too many other irons in the fire and don’t really want to be confined to just that job. Am I selfish? Perhaps, but I don’t want to have the responsibility of being the full time chaplain there, although I love the work. As I said, I have too many other irons in the fire.

It has been brutally hot here in the Durban area, 35C not uncommon, and up to 28C in the house the whole night. That is in the 90’s, at least, in Farenheit. Very uncomfortable. And we are also suffering a drought and there are some towns and villages that have to have water trucked in. I can’t imagine a city then size of Durban, with the townships and suburbs, running out of water. It would be an ubelieveable catastrophe.

Well, I am now concentrating on getting my home leave trip organized properly as I don’t want to miss anyone. I will be checking on addresses and phone numbers, hoping that most of them are the same as last time but having the new ones ready to go.

Love to you all. 2016 will be another year of great adventure. So many not problems but challenges---the middle  East,  Africa, gun control, climate change and the whole ecological earth system, etc. etc. etc. Wow!

We’d better not lose contact with the creator because we will need a lot of enlightenment to deal with all these challenges. But, as Obama’s slogan said,  Yes we can. We just have to make up our moral and political minds and put our noses to the grindstone and do it. Pope Francis has given us all a big push. Thank God for him.

 Hey, I am going to leave you now. Stay well. Grow in the Spirit. Love and Peace, Cas.

Nov. 10, 2015  3:30pm

Visit to an orthopedic surgeon to check out my knee which has been bothering me.

     He seems to be a very nice guy and he treated my former parish council chairperson and his wife from way back in 69 to 71.

     He felt around the knee with his fingers and said that there is a bit of fluid there. Then he picked up my leg and twisted it one way and asked if I felt any pain. No. then the other way

and again, did I feel any pain. No. after some more moving things around and checking this and that he showed me a knee model and how the ligatures on the side kind of hold it together and there is the cartrilage inside the knee to be a kind of cushion between the two knee bones. He said that it looked like maybe these things were a bit bruised but if I didn't feel any pain when he tried twisting this way and that way, all that was needed was an anti-inflammatory. OK. Injection or pill? I said it is up to you, you are the doctor. So he injected an anti-inflammatory something straight into the knee to clear up the inflammation and to take away, pretty quickly, the pain that might still be left. He then gave me a prescription for some anti-inflammation pills to take for about 10 days. He also suggested that I get something (he showed me a pamphlet) to build up the cartilage that might have been slightly damaged. So I have become a pill taker. Yuk. But the knee does feel better now though it is still not the same as the other leg. He said to give him a call after about 3 weeks and then we will see where to go from there. If he or I aren't satisfied, he will stick a camera in there and take a look to see what the story is, but he said he hopes that that won't be necessary. I should continue to do my bending and unbending exercises as it will strengthen the knee. So that all took about 20 minutes and I am happy. So don't worry . Love and Peace, Cas.

Dec. 2, 2015

     Time seems to fly. Just a few odds and ends. I was delighted to have a grade 7 farewell Mass at Holy Family School. I love being with kids and try to simplify the Liturgy so that they don’t get lost. This school is nominally Catholic but probably 75% of the kids are from some other churches. I think the parents like the ethos and discipline of Catholic schools. )Nov. 13

     I also had a chance to talk to the Catholic Women’s league at their annual general meeting as St. Catherine parish. I tried to open up their minds to Pope Francis’ plea to be a church of the poor and to practice mercy and compassion and forgiveness. Are you prepared to accept gays and lesbians? How about people who have been traumatized by a divorce and have managed to pull their lives together with a new partner. Can you realistically expect them, especially if they are still young, to live as celibates? If they have begun new relationships that also involve children, must they now give up those new relationships, abandon that partner and those children to go back to what??? How can we help them to experience some hope and healing in their situation or do we tell them that there is, unfortunately, no hope for them? 

    I also attended a memorial celebration of an Indian Hindu lady where the grace was said in an Indian language. I was privileged to be invited to this special occasion for a woman who was multi-faithed, and a spark plug in her multi-faith community. She was a neighbor to a Catholic family and they too, have an open house and heart to all people of all faiths. It was uplifting.  Nov. 21

    I also went for my annual prostate checkup and came out with an all clear, as usual. I also popped in to see the orthopedic surgeon to tell him (he wasn’t there so I left a message with is secretary) that I have now reclaimed my bum leg and am 98% happy with it. It is like new, thanks to him. I still wear a knee support when I am working in the garden, which I was, quite heavily, after some nice rains.

     Sundays are almost always with the Zulu community at Savannah Park. They are like sheep without a shepherd if I can’t be there and they are soooo good. They are the church Francis is talking about, the church of the Poor. Nov. 22

                        

   Car blessing; visit to the Auxiliary bishop of Durban re: marriage requirements for my marriage on Jan. 2, 2016; yearly checkup with Dr. Grizic re: prostate—clean bill of health; Take Katrina to lunch on Thanksgiving day—she wanted a Greek restaurant and we found one that was perfect; then to Mala and Ernest for Thanksgiving dinner. Long back, I introduced Katrina to Mala and Ernest (she is a business woman and Ernest is a medical technician specializing in in vitro fertilization—helping women get pregnant when they can’t. (whose fault? Not so clear! Maybe not hers, but low sperm count…) Katrina promises to make the Thanksgiving Dinner. Later, having forgotten this promise, she  was asked by Mala what she would like for Thanksgiving, she said---get this---Macaroni and Cheese. Ha! A first, I believe. So we had what must be the first Thanksgiving Dinner of Macaroni and cheese. Delicious. Some other things too but that was the main meal. This is history. Nov. 26-thanksgising

     All day Friday a funeral of one of our young priests (39 yrs. old), said Mass last Sunday and then dropped dead of a heart attack. You never know. It was a 3 language celebration of his life. English, Zulu (most of the people in the church are Zulu speaking and the people he worked with were Zulu speaking, and Chichirwa, which is the language of Malawi. His mom and some of the family came from Malawi (maybe a 12 hr. drive) for the funeral, and the sermon and later some comforting words were said by priests who came from Malawi or were also working in South Africa. I am sure that it helped to take some of the pain away from such a sad event. Nov. 27

  

Then comes my birthday, Saturday the 28^th of Nov. My friend Shirley (we have been friends since I met her in the hospital at St. Mary’s here at Mariannhill, back in 1967, when she gave birth to her last born son. She later, (after I gave her instructions) became a Catholic. She is now 81 yrs. and just had a hip replacement. It has been our custom, when I am around, that I take her for a meal when it is her birthday and she takes me for a meal when It is my birthday. So it was now her turn and she agreed to take me and Katrina to lunch. She says that she booked the restaurant for 12:30. So Katrina and I got there a bit early only to find that Shirley’s daughter needed some help to find a house in a neighboring suberb. She asked if I knew Westville. Well, that depends, I said, but show me the map (from google maps) where you want to go. When I saw the map, I also saw the street name “ High Wycombe”, a very unusual name. I know it because my friend, Rajes, my travel agent lives on that street and I have been there often and so has Katrina because Rajes was organizing her ticket back to the States. Well, Lynn, needed to get some papers from that place in Westville, so I said, follow me and I will take you there. In the meantime, they refined the lie saying that it was Rajes’ house that they were going to but she was having some sort of a gathering and Katrina also left something with her so Rajes said, never mind, just come and collect what you need and it won’t disturb her gathering.

So, we get there and I think that I might as well pop in to say hello while they are getting their things and then get out and go to our lunch. Ha! As I walk in the door, there are 50 or more people singing, “Happy Birthday to you”. Holy Moses. I have never been so caught off guard in all my 80yrs. here on this earth. What is even more amazing is that I see the two retired bishops that I live with. I had told them that I wouldn’t be home for lunch today and they just played the game and said nothing. The already knew this three weeks before but kept the secret. The same with Neil. He changed my oil filter that morning and I told him I had to get out of there as I was being taken out to lunch. He and his wife just kept straight faces. And now, there they were. Plus people from Johannesburg, and from Landsend, and from Klaarwater, and from Chatsworth, and from Westville, and all over. All I could think is “how did Katrina get all these names and address and emails, etc. She must work for the CIA.

Then she produces a video (on the wall) of clips sent if by people from Switzerland, Germany, London, All over the States, Cape Town, relatives and friends, etc. etc. etc. It blew my mind. She had been working of this for a couple of months and had conned others into joining in this conniving event. Lies, lies, lies. And it was awesome. I still haven’t seen the whole video and I am still trying to recuperate for what was the greatest shock in my life. They didn’t realize that, at my age, I might have even had a heart attack!!! From the shock. It was beautiful. They asked a blessing on my continued life here on earth, and I reminded them that they are my blessing, without them my life would be empty. They were  (you all are) a gift from God to me, and I am the one that must say, over and over and over, many thanks. Nov. 28

 Sunday, 29^th, I took Katrina to a village near Mthatha to experience the real life of Africa in a village where, I said, she should learn how to carry things on her head, how to gather fire wood, cook African food, wash clothes in the river (if there is water) etc. etc. etc.

     In the meantime, I took Mona, who is one of Fr. Guy’s boys studying nursing, to his surrogate family at Sabelani home, and spent the evening with them where we had supper together and then paid our respects to the ancestors with a sip of Jack (as in Daniels). A fitting close to a lovely day.

     I have been busy visiting people, partly business (my provincial, insurance company, rent collectors for our project at Bedford) and partly keeping our friendships going. We will leave again on Friday to return to Mariannhill. I have pastoral work to do on Sat. and Sun. and Katrina is preparing an event for her kids at the orphanage and Mona has to get back to work at the hospital.

So that’s it for now.  Dec. 2

Nov. 10, 2015

The concert was awesomely beautiful and deeply meaningful. An hour and a half. The Durban Philharmonic orchestra with some compositions especially for the occasion, and there were also, aside from two beautiful choirs (almost all African), some African soloists--soprano woman and two male tenors, Bhuddist drummers (huge drums, 8 of them, and what a sound they made), Hindu dancers (very graceful), a Muslim mad singing an invitation to prayer (lovely voice), a Jewish celloist (they were remembering the horrible Krystalnacht, when, 77 yrs. ago, there was a pogrom against Jews in Germany and someone composed some very moving music that expressed the sadness of that terrible occasion). All religions was represented there and the plea was that they should be an example to the world that the world can be like the Hurley center, all religions working together to make a better world. I wept for most of the time because it was just so beautiful, and meaningful. I am sure that even the angels rejoiced together with Hurley up there.
(I am taking about a concert to celebrate the 100th birthday of Archbishop Denis Hurley at the newly blessed Denis Hurley Center which is a building next to the cathedral in Durban which caters to the poor and marginalized. They have a soup kitchen and feed hundreds of down and out people every day, there is a clinic staffed 24/7 by volunteer doctors and nurses for the homeless people, and there are several offices for migrants where they can get help of one kind or another. All is done on a volunteer basis. It is open to everyone regardless of race or religion. It is a part of the dream of Archbishop Hurley that has finally come true.)

Nov. 9, 2015 ---the 100th anniversary of Archbishop Hurley's birth. Big celebrations here today and over the whole weekend.

    The main purpose of this blog today is to remind you all that I don't do "facebook" or "linkedin". I know that I am there on both of them but I just don't have the time to play for hours on those programs. They can be addictive so I just avoid them. If you want to contact me, use my email address which is: frcascmm50@gmail.com . Enjoy the day. Cas.

Nov. 7, 2015

I went, that week, with Katrina, to the opening of  a Health Center at one of the villages not too far from Mariannhill. The Aids Outreach program has not branched out into a more broad brush program so that they try to get a container and then equip it with some basic testing equipment, like eyes, blood pressure, general checkup, keeping records, so that people can have access to some sort of health facility, staffed by a nurse, where there are no facilities available otherwise. It is on the local school grounds, so that the kids have easy access to checkups when they feel that there is something wrong. I was asked to join the Methodist lady priest who gave the blessing. I was privileged. I held the book for her. She was a local minister and that was the way it should be.

    I went to get some spare keys and parked in a zone where you have to pay but it wasn’t visible . I got a ticket after pointing out to the cop that the sign was illegible. He wasn’t impressed. But I went to the municipality and showed him the picture that I took with my cell phone of the sign that was un-readable and got the R100 ticket canceled. Ha! Every  once in a while justice does prevail, but not often enough.

    From the 20^th to the 27^th,  of Sept. I was in Mthatha. The main thing was to attend a board meeting of the Sabelani Home, and give support to Fr. Guy’s boys (young men). But of course we killed many birds with one stone, checking out our projects here and there and visiting Landsend, or course, and one of the missions at Libode, where Fr. Winfried, who had just returned from his home leave, asked to be visited. Contacted lots of people and caught up on events in their lives as well as Mthatha in general.

     After Mass on the 27^th, I caught a plane for Montreal to visit Guy. The report regarding his health was so bad (4^th stage  cancer---months not years to live) that I really wanted to see him at least once before he left planet earth for a better place. A friend encouraged me to do it and solved the problem of paying for the air ticket. Otherwise it would not have been possible. So, I spent time with him (and with the rest of the community at our House in Sherbrooke, somewhere between Montreal and Quebec City) and even made a trip to Quebec City were two of our confreres are holding down the fort for what used to be a student house, but now no students. Hm! Guy seemed to be in good spirits and the effects of the cancer didn’t slow him down at all. He had no pains and no other effects that would indicate that he is on the way out. However, we got together every morning for a cup of coffee about 6:30am and when we were finished he went out on the veranda for a smoke. I chided him and told him that that was the same as saying, OK, I am going to die, so why not die happy. Then God would say, OK, if you don’t care, then I don’t care. Go ahead and die!!! I think that if we want God to intervene here then God has a right to expect some cooperation!!! Don’t be a quitter, I said.

    It was healing, I think, for him, just to be close to a good friend and confrere who knows his story and fought with him for recognition for all that he has done.

    I left to return to Mariannhill on the 9^th of October. It was just nice and hopeful to be with Guy while praying all the while that God intervene and give him an extension on his ticket so that he can continue doing God’s work. We (all of us) are also praying to Fr. Engelmar (who gave his life to save another prisoner in Dachau) telling him that this is his chance to do a miracle so that he can get canonized. I hope that he is listening and is sympathetic. But then, there are so many other needs of people, like those hundreds of thousands of refugees, migrants, fleeing the war in Syria (and some other places too) only to have some doors slammed in their faces and get stuck in no-man’s land. How sad. Where is God, I think that  they must be thinking.

    While waiting for the plane  to take off  in Monreal, I found myself in a queue at an airport restaurant with a young lady in front of me and a party of 4 in front of her. When she and I were asked how many and said just one, there were no tables for just one, so the girl in front of me, Maki is her name, a Canadian girl of Japanese descent, turned to me and asked if I would agree to take the table that was offered for two. Clever girl. So, of course, we shared a table and had an enjoyable conversation as we devoured our meal. It was delightful.

    When I was leaving Munich (I was supposed to meet friends there but there was a mixup so I spent the whole bloody day in the airport, tired, and unhappy to have missed a chance to connect with good friends) I spotted a nun and just wandered over to ask which community she belongs to. Ha! She is a CPS sister (one of our Mariannhill sisters) from Mozambique. When I asked if she knew Sr. Edwarda, she even got Edwarda on the phone so I could talk to her. We worked together for refugees and exiles when I was in Zimbabwe. Small world and nuns who are familiar, more than me, with It stuff.

     Lots of time has been taken up with grass (weed) cutting and quite a few haircuts. I am getting pretty good at the haircuts now after being out of practice for some time.

   There was a woman who was refused to be buried at her church because she didn’t pay her dues. Yuk! So, we found a parish that let us use their church for the requiem mass and the church was full of her family and relatives and friends. Common sense is so uncommon.

    I had been having Masses at another parish where English is the language used. I like that because then I can tell a few jokes to drive my points home in a friendly and memorable way.

    I also went to fetch my new glasses ( a spare pair) and my eye doctor noticed that I was limping a bit and suggested that I see her friend who is a physiotherapist. I did for two sessions and it was very soothing and helpful. But when she suggested that I see an orthopedic SURGEON, that last word put me off and I went into denial. I don’t want or need a surgeon, was my first thought.  She, Denise, the physio-, invited me to her home for her daughter’s first communion. I  pitched up with Katrina, my niece, not knowing anyone there except the new physio, Denise, and when the people began to arrive after the Mass, I discovered that I knew at least a dozen of them with one connection or another. Ha! If you live long enough, you probably have bumped into most people and the world being round offers great opportunities for that.

    More grass cutting. And my long time friend, Shrirley, went to the hospital for a hip replacement. We have been friends since 1967 when she came to St. Mary’s hospital to give birth to her last born son, when I was chaplain there.

     My friend, Reinhard, who works for Pfizer, came to check on one of his projects in Namibia, and then passed through Durban to check on some other things and we got together with my niece Katrina for a meal. It was nice and made up  for having missed him (and his dad) when I passed through Munich on the way back here from Canada.

     On Saturday, the 24^th, I started a retreat for men in St. Catherine’s parish , nearby, at 6:30 am with breakfast, ending at 10am. I loved it and I think that so did they. Part of it was their having to read two handouts I had given to three groups, one handout being what was going on in the synod, the tug of war between the so-called conservatives who said no to any changes, and the so-called liberals who were in favor of allowing communion to divorced and remarried, making space for gays and lesbians, and even, maybe, recognizing gar marriages. The other handout was entitled “ a second marriage can be a blessing”. After they had had time to digest and share with one another these two articles, it was clear that this was exactly  what was happening at the synod, some on this side and some on the other side, both sides convinced that their stand was for the good of the Church. Very interesting, and enjoyable, that we could be on different sides of a thorny issue and still be friends and respect and love one another. We need more of that.

October 30, 2015
Wow! Time flies. It is over a month since I "blogged". Partly running and partly just too lazy. I am also running now. I have a dentist appointment at 8am this morning (it is just 5:45am) and then I take my grand niece to a doctor in Pinetown as she has been having stomach pains. She is a gem. I am proud of her and will miss her a lot when her visa runs out at the end of December and she has to leave.
    However, please excuse me for now. I promise that I will catch you up when we have completed our visits to doctors. In the meantime, stay well and enjoy our lovely weather. Cas.

    Some more hospital visits, hair cuts, grass cutting etc. to fill in the rather hot days we were having.

    Then something very special. I made some Aunt Jemima’s pancakes for our guys who had no idea what delicious Aunt Jemima pancakes are all about. Plus,  I opened the other tin of genuine Canadian maple syrup. The recipe said this batch should make 10 to 12 pancakes. Ha! I was lucky to get 6 out of that batch and had to make another batch. This was for breakfast on Wednesday the 28^th. Well, it was a sell-out. All gone.

     Katrina came to me on Thursday to say that she had had a tummy ache since Tuesday, not in one place and not all the time, but here and there. So I got her an appointment with doctor Sabbatini (his son Rory Sabbatini is a professional golfer, you may have heard of him) and after giving here a thorough going over came to the conclusion that it was worms. This is not unusual for us here. So he prescribed some medicine and she has been taking it since then. It is a longer process so she says that it is improving a bit, she thinks, but if it persists we have plan B, another doctor who will re-check her.

     I had bought some oil for the car and went for  a service to a friend and met many of the family that I hadn’t met before or hadn’t seen in a long time and I was forced (Ha) to join them for a curry dinner (as you know, I am addicted to curry. It is worse for me that Heroin).

    In the meantime, I think that I have decided to do away with my denial and will agree to let my friend organize for me an orthopedic surgeon to take a scan of this troublesome left knee and find out what is wrong with it, hoping that it doesn’t need any cutting and chopping.  

Nov. 7, 2015

Whew! That is the longest epistle I thin k I have ever put together. You should go and rest now and try  to recover.  I think that I must be more pro-active and not let things go so loooong. Lots of love. Cas

    

October 30, 2015
Wow! Time flies. It is over a month since I "blogged". Partly running and partly just too lazy. I am also running now. I have a dentist appointment at 8am this morning (it is just 5:45am) and then I take my grand niece to a doctor in Pinetown as she has been having stomach pains. She is a gem. I am proud of her and will miss her a lot when her visa runs out at the end of December and she has to leave.
    However, please excuse me for now. I promise that I will catch you up when we have completed our visits to doctors. In the meantime, stay well and enjoy our lovely weather. Cas.

Sept. 27, 2015
     I started this update on the 12th of August but somehow got sidetracked and ran out of time. I am heading for Canada this afternoon to visit my confrere and colleague Fr. Guy who has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I have an 8am Mass and will then come home, leave my church stuff here and will be taken to the airport by Bishop Lobinger. I will arrive in Montreal tomorrow and will be back in SA on the 9th of Oct. I will try to catch you up again then. In the meantime, love and Peace, Cas. (Here's what I put together till now--below)

Sept. 14^th, 2015

Holy Moses, more than a month has gone by and I have been very slack about keeping up my blog. Lots has happened, for all of us, this past month.

    Well, let’s start with the memory stick that I spent so much on. The dirty rat didn’t tell me that it only transfers pictures, not text. Too late to take it back. I am counting on Katrina, my grand niece, to get me ready for next year. We both noticed that time is flying. She has been here already 8 months and there are still many things and people that she must experience and meet. One must is a week in a village to see the real Africa. I will organize that next week when I go to Mthatha for a BOM meeting with Guy’s boys at the new Sabelani Home.

    I invited my old friend, Shirley Howells, to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate her 81^st birthday. She still teaches art to a few students to be able to cover expenses. Why is it that some people have to work till they drop. She knows that if push came to shove her sons would certainly take care of her but you know how we all are. We like to help but don’t like to be helped. We can do it ourselves. We like to be in control, don’t we!!!

That was on August 15^th. It was also her 43^rd anniversary of being received into the Catholic church  at an all African parish. Wow! With all the ups and downs of life, the faith has managed to stay stuck.

     Aside from all the ordinary stuff, like Sunday Masses at Savannah Park, with the sisters at the cottage at the hospital, taking an occasional class with the novices, having  a Mass for Matric (senior year) students from Holy Family School, etc, etc. etc. the main event of the week was the funeral of Fr. Cyril Malinga who was the Canon Lawyer who helped Fr. Guy in his case with the bishop of Mthatha, having received instructions from the CMM Generalate to get him to take up the case. He wasn’t 50 yet but was a hard worker and was known as one of the best Canon Lawyers in South Africa. I visited him several times in the hospital when he was in a coma (which he never came out of). I would pray in his ear as there was no response otherwise, hoping that he could hear and be comforted by my and the Lord’s presence. There were well over a hundred priests and several bishops at his funeral, not that that means anything special. I don’t think that there were any bishops at my mom’s funeral but I know that were she is she is looking down on Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and us priests and religious.

    On Saturday, the 21^st of August, my niece, Ann, a medical doctor, arrived by plane here in Durban, to visit her daughter, Katrina, the one who is the volunteer at the orphanage  here at Mariannhill.  She had a few tons of stuff  that she brought for the kids, and we had to stuff two cars with these things, my little Hyundai, and her rented car. Katrina was delighted because she has felt deprived as she had no vehicle to drive and didn’t want to drive mine because it is a stick shift and we drive on the other side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side. At least with this rent a car it was an automatic. She confidently said I could go ahead and head for home and she knew the way. Clever girl. So she was in her glory as she chauffeured he mom and her aunt (who came two days later) around this area of South Africs. They spent  a couple of nights in a game park, and another couple of nights at St. Lucia, which is a World Heritage Site, among other things, a fresh water lagoon that lies next to the  Indian Ocean, and which is home to many Hippos. Then they spent a couple of nights and days at a place called Ballito where they had a flat overlooking the sea. Katrina and her aunt spent most of the time in the water while Ann chilled out reading. I was able to get free for one afternoon and an overnighter and came up to join them and have a meal together and some time to catch up on each other’s lives.

    I hadn’t been in the sea for a long time and Ann and I went down to take a dip. I love the sea and love to do body surfing. I forgot that I am almost 80yrs. old now and not as fit as I used to be when I was a very young 40 or so. Ha! I caught a wave, and it also caught me, and spun me around, and knocked me about, and deposited me on the beach with sand having gone into all human orifices ( I won’t go into detail). While I was contemplating this situation, on my hands and knees, trying to stand up, another wave came and sent me flying further up the beach. Once again, as I tried to get up, ha, another wave sent bashed me eve further up the beach, and I really struggled to get up but couldn’t. A young man next to me asked if I needed some help and I said yes, yes, yes. He held out his arm and I grabbed on and manage to get to me feet that way. I think that this episode would have made a great hit on “funny videos” or something like that.  I must have twisted my knee in my efforts to get myself right side up as I have been having trouble with my left knee the past few days. I get these jerky spasms , especially at night, and eventually got myself something like and Ace Bandage (stretch bandage) and some gel to put some heat on that knee and calm it down. I also discovered that one of the possible reasons for that is a lack of Magnesium . I looked it up on Google and found out that there are no special foods that you can eat to up your supply but you have to go to the  chemist shop (pharmacy) to get some  capsules that you take before meals. I think that they are helping and I take them especially when I am out cutting the grass or doing some other strenuous exercise where you use muscles (that you are not normally used to using, Ha again,).

After their stint at the sea, the three of them went up to the Drakensberg mountains and were enthralled by the beauty. There was no snow but the weather was pleasant except in the early morning where it was pretty cold.

They enjoyed the time here. The last few days I dragged them to friends so that they could see who my family is here on this side of the ocean. I have been blessed both ways---a fantastic family at home in the States, and solid friends who have become my surrogate family here in Africa (next year I will have been here for 50 yrs. ). So both families met each other and shared a few moments of each other’s lives, over some delicious meals.

    In the meantime, I was busy with lots of other things.

On August 22^nd we buried Br. Eric. He had celebrated his 84^th birthday not too long before. But he suffered from dementia and slowly but surely went downhill till he had to go to the hospital and it was there, after a bit less than two weeks that he passed away quietly. He had been the one in charge of our house here, called Mater Dolorosa (Mother of  Sorrows). Bad name for a house like ours, I think. He had to do the buying and maintaining, etc. but it was getting too much for him and, after answering his plea to get a replacement, Br. Lloyd, a Zimbabwean came and took over about a year ago.

     As you know, I am up early (usually between 4 and 4:30am) and I go down to the kitchen to have a bowl of Bran Flakes. You know what that is supposed to be for! Well, often, I would find Br. Eric going down the hall naked from the waist down and it was in winter and was cold. When I would ask where he was going, he would say, maybe, to his room, but he was going in the wrong direction.  He once said, when I found him in the hallway, going, again in the opposite direction to his room, I asked why he was out in the hall. He said that he had to pee. I said the hall isn’t the place to pee, let’s go to your room. Well, by the time I got his pants down and his underwear down and, lo and behold, a nappie with Velcro clasps, it he had to do that by himself, it would have been way too late. But the best was when I was showing a couple of nuns around the place, one an African and the other a so-called coloured, we met Br. Eric in the sitting room. Unfortunately, he had taken his pants and underwear off and was standing there, like that when we walked in. Before I could try to explain anything, the African sister went to the other end of the room where his pants were lying, where he had taken them off, brought I got most of it cut that week and just today I finished a part that was growing too fast.

    There have been reports of some kind of Satanism in the nurses quarters that was slipping into the hospital. The chaplain organized for several of us priests (and even a retired bishop) to join in a Mass for the patients, to protect them against and the possible harm and hurt of these evil spirits. I took the maternity ward, the children’s ward, and 4 other medical wards. I explain at each place that we are sent by the authorities to pray for them, the patients, that they not be bothered with bad spirits, but that they may find healing here and go back home to look after their families. After hearing the explanation, they are all happy to be prayed for, not just Catholics. No one objects to any priest or minister coming to pray for them . I also remind them that we pray for them every day in our chapel so that they can hurry up and get healed and get back to their families where they are being waited for as much as they are longing to be back home.

    Last Sunday I took a mass in German for the German community, including families with kids who go to German school and who are sent back to German speaking Europe to spend time with their grandparents or aunts and uncles and cousins. I surprised myself by getting through it without a hitch.