May 28th,
     I ran out of steam last night and this morning was running as usual but manage to transcribe the letter that my friend Gail wrote to her recently deceased husband whom we buried (cremated) yesterday. This woman, (she humbly won't admit it) was the backup for all the things we praised about the life of Gerard, who was everything they said about him. Between the two of them they raised three great young men who have been shaped and formed in the image of their father and who are positively imitating him in their own lives and families. Here is her letter:

A message from Gail Gabriel.

My Dearest Gerard,

Your death came so suddenly and shockingly to all of us. It is something we cannot question because we understand that the circumstances surrounding your death were totally part of God’s plan for you. He spared you the pain of receiving any more dialysis and any more discomfort. You have reached your heavenly destiny well before all of us, rejoicing with the angels in heaven where you are in a total state of bliss and happiness, pain free. As I prayed over you I had a vision of white galloping horses with chariots, and now I can understand it was our God sending his angels to fetch you.

The days ahead are going to be long and very difficult, especially for me, the beautiful memories we have made over all these years will sustain me in the years ahead and I know you, together with the angels in heaven,  would be interceding to the Lord for His peace and protection upon us.

The legacy you leave behind is immeasurable and cannot be compared to any person on this earth that I know. The accumulation of material wealth was never a priority and value to us.  The things that we as parents valued more than silver and gold are love, humility, kindness, joyfulness, piety and humbleness. Values which  we have firmly entrenched into the lives of our children. Thus, as a result, you were able to see the fruits of your hard work in the success of our children

Can you see all the people that have come to pay their respects? They have come from far and wide, with wonderful stories of how you have touched their lives in such profound ways. It’s amazing listening to their stories. You loved people, that was your greatest strength and at this time they are returning all that love that you established back to your family. Gerard, it is amazing to see the wonderful support of everyone at this time, young and old. So every time I scolded you about spending all that money you had on airtime, you banked it in making relationships that are being returned to us today. We will get through this time without you, with the support of all the friends that you made.

I strongly believe that children are a direct reflection of their parents. You have done an excellent job in raising them in the ways of the Lord. I will miss you terribly but every time I look at them I see you and I will be strengthened in the knowledge that your spirit of love, humility, kindness, humbleness and happiness lives on in them and their families they are building.

In 2009 God gave you back to us and I promised him that I would take good care of you. I tried to fulfill this promise to the best of my abilities. During thee years, we lived life as if every day was our last day. We had made beautiful memories together as a family. Russell and Christopher got married. You were over the moon when Zoe was born and all you spoke about every day as about Zoe and Kenzi, even though you didn’t meet Kenzi yet. She would know you because you often spoke to her and read her a story. These were precious moments that you enjoyed.  (He would read to Kenzi while she was still in the womb of his daughter-in-law. She was not born yet before he passed away.---my note—Fr. Cas.)

Your skill at playing darts earned you a reputation in the darting world that speaks volumes about you.  You transferred your skills to Karl, whom you have trained and he has already earned a spot representing South Africa at the world cup in 2008. The highest achievement every player dreams of. And now, as a young adult, he is number one in KZN and together this year, father and son are to have played for KZN in the national championships in July this year. Something you were happy about and therefore I am glad that even though your death shocked us you were happily planning till the day you died..

Thank you, my love for the best 37 yrs. of my life. We would have celebrated 34 yrs. of marriage in December. We had our challenges but we got through each one of them, and your loss is not going to be any easier, but I draw my strength from the legacy you leave behind, from the relationships you invested in and most of all from my gracious and Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.

You, go well, my love, until we meet some day on that heavenly shore.

                                          Your loving Wife,            Gail

I will leave this blog here for now. Cas

May 20^th, 2015

     It is about 9pm and I am tired, more emotionally than physically. I went off to a funeral this morning about 9:30 and only came back about 4:30 this afternoon. It was a special funeral because I knew Gerard, the one we were burying, as well as his whole family and cousins and uncles and aunts, etc. etc. etc.

      He inherited a bad gene from his ancestors that slowly but surely destroyed his kidneys. His mom died from that as well as his brother. His sister lost her kidneys but was able to get a donor. Gerard discovered that he had that the kidney problem came to roost in him as well. He had been on dialysis for some time now. But, as I understand it, when he came home from his dialysis session last Friday (maybe Saturday) he said that he had a headache and was not feeling well. That sometimes happens after dialysis so he didn’t take it as anything special. But, in fact, it was a stroke coming on. By the time he was taken by ambulance to the hospital, not far from his home, it seemed that he had an embolism and would have to be transferred to another hospital for treatment. (I am not sure if I got all this straight). However, the ambulance had to turn back after a long way because there was no oxygen in the second ambulance. So, by the time they got what they needed and headed back to the other hospital, precious time had been wasted and that lead to a death that most likely could have been avoided. Very sad.

     The funeral was today and I have never seen a funeral like it. I arrived at the church around 9:30 thinking that the Mass would start at 10 but it was going to start at 11.00. When I arrived, there was a queue of people going out of the church and into the yard to have a last look at Gerard. That queue continued for the next hour and a half, a steady flow of people whose lives had been touched by Gerard. He was only 62 yrs. old when he died. I first got to know him when he was 14 yrs. old. A long time ago. And I have been somehow a part of the family since I first arrived in South Africa.  At the Home Mass for the family (I thought) the night before, there were several hundred people who crammed into a tiny house. And today, the church was full, as well and the courtyard and, I think, even going out into the parking lot. Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Muslims, every faith and no faith. All had been touched by Gerard. His children paid him great tribute. He was a loving father, husband, brother and friend to all. But what moved me the most was the thoughts that his wife shared on the back of the pamphlet. It is so beautiful, I want to share it with you. I know well, and love her as well, his wife Gail. She is a woman of deep, deep faith and trust in the Lord which, I believe, is helping her to cope with this tragic and sudden loss of a deeply love one. Here it is. Oops, I don't know how to make an attachment here and because it is a PDF file, I can't copy it so I will just have to type it out for you but it is worth it. However, I won't do it now as it is getting late for me but in the morning.

     I have left out many other things that have happened in the past three weeks. I know that you have been reading about the xenophobia. It is shameful and not one African that I know does not think so and is also, like me, ashamed of what happened. Some of it, yes, was a small minority of small minded people who show their prejudices and small mindedness, but some of it, too, was criminals who took advantage of the situation to attack, kill, rob, etc. But I will leave it at that for now. Good night. Cas.

Thurs. morning, May 7^th, 2015

Dear Everyone,

     As most of you already know, my grand niece Katrina (daughter of my brother’s daughter Ann) and my niece Karla (Ann’s sister) got together in Cape Town to have a look around and then drive up what is known as the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth where they would catch a plane to Durban and I would meet them.  On the way they enjoyed some hang gliding, Ostrich Riding and Bunje Jumping.

     I had gone with Katrina to C.T. on Thursday, the23rd of April, made sure that she was settled in and taken care of and, with a borrowed car, went to the airport in CT to meet Karla who had flown in from California to spend a few days here. My (our) friends in CT, took very good care of us, helping us to find our way, sleeping us, feeding us, showing us around, etc. I visited a few friends and returned to Durban on Monday the 27^th of April, leaving the girls to do their thing in CT.

     I had booked a Mariannhill cottage which is on the Indian Ocean for three nights, Sunday May 3^rd, Mon. May 4^th, and Tues. May 5^th., giving the girls three nights and two days to chill out at the end of their adventures and to have a chance to jump in the comparatively warm Indian Ocean.

     However, they took longer to drive up to PE so they sent a message that they would only be arriving about noon in Durban on Monday the 4^th of May. They organized a shuttle from the Durban airport to a place called Hibberdene, which is only about 8 km. from where the cottage (next to a retreat house call Coolock House, run by the Mercy Sisters). After Mass on Sunday the 3^rd, I went shopping for some foodstuffs, etc. for our stay at the cottage and arrived at the cottage in the early afternoon.  I slept there that night and in the morning, checked to see that all was in readiness for their arrival that afternoon. There are two bedrooms with two beds each and three bedrooms with one queen size beds that can sleep two. I had taken one room for myself and put my things there in the room.

       They caught the shuttle about 3:30 on Mon. the 4^th, and when they  arrived in Hibberdene they phoned me and I went to fetch them and brought them to the cottage called Mariannhill Mission.  By this time it was about 5:30pm.  When they arrived, that had two big suitcases, two back packs, and two like duffle bags. We just put them on the floor in the living room for the time being. I showed     them the rooms and told them, when they were ready, to pick the room or rooms they wanted. They were hungry and we decided to go out for a bite to eat nearby, which we did.

     When we came back, about 8pm, there was a full moon, the weather was quite warm and you could hear the sound of the surf. So we sat on the porch, had a drink of something and watched the moon. The even went down from the porch to take some photos of the moon. It was beautiful. About 9pm I told them that I was going to bed because I was tired so I showed them how to lock the burglar gate and the front door and went to bed.

     I was awakened by screams “Cas, Cas”, so I leapt out of bed thinking that maybe a snake had come into the house or a mouse or some other creature, and ran out of the room on my shorty pajamas only to find a man at the door with a stick in one hand and what I think was a small knife in the other hand. I shouted at him and screamed at him and shut the burglar gate and he and another outside decided to run away. They had nothing in their hands besides that stick and knife. In the meantime, when the girls were ready to get off the porch and come into the house, these guys came up and accosted them. They had gone to the kitchen to have a drink of water and one of them, when she heard the noise came back to the living room where one of them was waving this stick at her and maybe a knife as well. That is when she ran back into the kitchen and closed the door and started screaming for me. In the meantime, the thieves cleaned out the whole place. They had been watching videos they had taken with their cell phones on the big screen TV so their I-phones and cameras were on the coffee table along with all the keys to the cottage and the remote for the gate. They took these things and everything else. Of course, inside the luggage where their passports, money, credit cards, I-pads and the clothes they intended to wear. All gone.

     By the time I came out, this was all gone and I didn’t even notice of think of it until they told me what had happened. Of course I still had my cell phone and I-pad but didn’t have any numbers to phone (the sisters next door at Coolock House, the security company, the police---nothing.) So I set the security siren going figuring that someone would be there in a few minutes. It took the security company 45 minutes to get there, which obviously gave the thieves plenty of time to disappear with all the stuff into the think bush which is in the area. I also tried to phone 911 but that is not a local number and it went to someone in a place like Johannesburg where, when I tried to describe where we were, they wouldn’t understand. Eventually the police arrived from the local police station and then the sisters from next door came down with some of the priests from the Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) . I am not sure how they knew to come down but there is a back path up to the Coolock House and they used that to come to the cottage.

     In the meantime, the police got busy trying to chase anyone they saw in the dark and went up and down the area with their torches to see what they could see. The said that it was too late to get sniffer dogs and it was almost an hour later by this time. The Police were there till about three in the morning, sweating from running up and down chasing the possible thieves. The bush is thick and it is easy for anyone to hide out and hide things there and come back in the morning, when things have calmed down, and then check the loot.

     The sisters were kind enough to let us sleep up at their retreat house as we were very vulnerable in the cottage as the thieves had also stolen the keys and remote so we couldn’t take the car and leave and we couldn’t lock the house against further intrusion. Not a good situation.

     So, on Tuesday, the 5^th, we spent the day doing some shopping for some basic clothing and toiletries in town, and managed to get some photos for the passports they would need. (I had phone the consulate and asked what they would need for temporary passports—their only ID’s---and they said a police report, a photo and a good bit of money. So we had to go to the police and get copies for all three of us of the police report so that they could use that to verify that they had had their passports stolen. I also needed on since I was called the complainant since I was the only one who was living in South Africa. That took most of the day. In the evening an old friend who has a restaurant had invited us for a meal and It was good for them to get out of that scene for a while. Again, the sisters were kind enough to give us a place to stay Tues. night.

     I forgot to mention that although I had phone the security company, when they came they couldn’t find the right remote so I had to get a locksmith. But before he came, two people helped to lift the gate up off the rail and slide it open enough to get my car out so that we could use it to do all the things we had to do. They put it back on the rail and when the locksmith came he was able to reprogram some remotes so that the one stolen would no longer work and I had one and gave on to the sisters as a backup.

     On Wednesday, the 6^th, we left early, 6:30, with the empty suitcases which the police had found (the thieves and taken what they wan..ted and just left the empty suitcases somewhere in the bush where the police found them. We first stopped at Mariannhill to leave these things there and went straight to the consulate after printing out copies that I had on my computer of Katrina’s passport and some other things. We were there at the consulate by 9:30 and with the help of a friend whom I know who works there at the consulate (She was on one of my retreats at her school in Ixopo in about 1967 or so, and I met her on other occasions in between) we managed to get the temporary passports in about 3 hours.

     When we came back, we stopped shortly at a friend’s house who then invited us for supper (lovely curry) to kind of ease the pain .    

     I forgot to mention that the local community organized some clothing for the girls to wear and showed other signs of concern and offers to help in any way that they could. Also the police, for the first time in my life, went overboard to help us and were excellent in all ways.

     So that is the story for now. Today we take Karla to the plane early so that, if there are some problems with all these things, she has time to sort them out before the plane leaeves.

     Also, yesterday afternoon, having been starved for several days of access to the internet, one took over my computer and the other my I-pad and were on them till we went for supper and again, when we came back. They are creatures of the IT age.

     We thank the Lord that we (especially they ) are alive and well. They could have easily been raped, or stabbed or shot or beaten. NO such thing. Thank you God!

May 3, 2015

A whole month has gone by already and here I am , once again behind the times.  America has had its Baltimore and we have had our xenophobia, both, at least partly, the result of growing and deepening frustration with their situations. In the States, the not too latent racism coming to the fore in so many instances, one after the other,  that it seems that finally people want to say that is enough , we have had it, and now we are going to mobilize and make sure that we (black Americans and all other who are also disgusted with the ongoing racism in our society, especially in our police forces) are heard loud and clear.

The same is true here with regard to xenophobia but with a different core or basis. Unemployment among black Africans is probably more that 30% especially among the youth. Lots of talk and discussions and workshops and not much action/results. There is an appalling lack of “service delivery” (flush toilets, clean water in the houses, electricity, roads, health facilities, educational needs, etc. etc. etc. It is more that 20 yrs. of independence (April 24^th, 1994—now called Freedom Day) We have to stop blaming the Apartheid regime . Come on guys, it is more that 20 yrs. now. Corruption, laziness, maladministration, lots of talk and little action, have bred anger and frustration over all these years to the point where it breaks out and these ugly feelings are vented on the first persons who get in our way, the foreigners. It is like the husband who it frustrated ate work, hates the work, hates his boss, but feels trapped, year after year, and finally, one day , it all comes to a head and when he comes home, he takes his anger and frustration out on his wife and children (typical domestic violence). Then it becomes and opportunity for the criminals to cash in, after listening to the trouble-makers shouting “ kill the foreigners”. I can say, honestly, that the feeling of the vast majority of Africans is shame at what is happening. The foreigners have run away from terrible violence in their own home countries and are willing to work hard and live, as they say, on the smell of an oilrag, in order to just live in peace, which is not there in their home countries. Many of my African friends and colleagues admit

 That man are just plain lazy and it is the truth. Here is some background on the situation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(From a concerned person who spent all of his adult life in Zimbabwe and finally retired in his old age)

To Whom It may concern.  Having retired through illness to the UK I am nevertheless still concerned about what is happening in Africa. I have received the pastoral letters of Cardinal Wilfrid Napier OFM and the

* SACBC on the subject of Xenophobia in South Africa.
I am sorry for you all especially as Durban appears to have been the
epicentre of the problems.  I am encouraged by the positive steps taken by the Archdiocese of Durban to help those people disadvantaged in the situation.

 But I think we all have to look at long term solutions and the reasons for it.
 I was a little surprised to read the following in the statement of the SACBC:
 " We also exhort them (legal immigrants)  to expose those who are here illegally and report any criminal elements among them".
 I do not think there was understanding of the reasons for the "Illegal"
immigrants, especially those from Zimbabwe. They are like the boat
immigrants fleeing to Europe on account of poor conditions and
persecutions at home. Thousands of these migrants are dying on the way in unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean sea. This is a much greater tragedy than the Xenophobia in South Africa. Most of these migrants are from African countries and the main sending country is Libya which is a member of the African Union.. Yet what is the AU doing to help? Its Chairman, Robert Mugabe, is at meetings in Asia instead of trying to address this problem. It is being left to the European countries to try to solve it.
 There is a very different perspective on the South Africa/Zimbabwe situation,. SA gains wealth from the present situation in Zim which imports about 8 billion dollars
worth from SA but only exports about 1.5 billion per year. Owing to years of misrule and corruption Zimbabwe is almost a failed state. There is endemic poverty and even starvation in some parts of the country and massive unemployment. These are the main reasons why there are so many Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa, many “illegally” in terms of law, but not in terms of justice.

Over the years South Africa has continued to support the Zimbabwe government and overlook its rigged elections. So it has some responsibility for the massive immigration of Zimbabweans to South Africa.
These are facts that should be discussed. SA has the levers for effective change in the region if it used them properly. The Catholic Church’s **IMBISA could be really involved here as it is both the sender and recipient of these migrants. Beware of SA trying to get client states throughout IMBISA region.
 To ask other migrants to "expose" the illegals could lead to more
 fighting. You all have my prayers and best wishes.

·         Southern  African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

·         * Inter-regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the meantime, my grand  niece, Katrina, who came out in January this year to work as a volunteer is being visited by her aunt, Karla, my niece, who flew to Cape Town from California. I flew with Katrina to CT so that I could help here get settled there for the time being and to be able to meet Karla, who flew in the next day. They did their thing, roaming around, and I re-connected with friends and confreres before flying back to Durban . It was only 3 days, but packed with meeting people.

    I think that this is enough for now or it may be another month before I manage to sit down again and update you all.

     Winter is here in the mornings (cold) but not so bad in the afternoons (nice and warm) till about 4pm. That means that the grass is not growing so fast (hooray) and it gives me a chance to do some other  garden work like pruning the trees and raking leaves and collecting dead branches, etc.

     In between I still visit people in the hospitals and attend meetings of various organizations, the last one being the NBO’s and NGO’s who have been trying to respond in various ways (food, tents, legal things, basic home needs, clothing, etc. ). I was impressed. There were more than 80 people there. Unfortunately, I was the only Catholic Priest. I am sure that there are some things that are going on in the Catholic enclave but I have heard nothing about them. I was invited by the Metodist Bishop to forget preaching last Sunday and get away from the pulpit and take my congregation among those who have been so badly treated and mix with them and see what kind of help they need.  Anyway, that is enough for now. See you again later but hopefully not so long from now. Cas

Feb. 4, 2015

Here goes.  Jan.. 22, I was called to anoint 2 people in the hospital. It is called the sacrament of the sick. It is meant to give healing to the body, if possible (God doesn’t really want people to suffer), and in the spirit (when one is seriously ill, one tends to think about one’s life, the ups and downs, the good things and the bad things (we are all sinners) and often, one thinks that maybe this is the time to ask for forgiveness for anything that one feels is not in keeping with what we know God expects of us, so that, if I am going to get the final call, I will be ready to go up the gates well prepared, and not caught with my pants down. It is always touching for me and somehow joyful to see the sick person experiencing a feeling of peace and relief.  I have had the experience too of others in the ward, who are listening and doing their own praying, saying, “ how about me too?” OK, not a problem. And I then remind everyone in the ward, regardless of denomination or no religion at all, that every day we are praying for them and putting the before God and asking God to hurry up and look after them so that they can get back home (if that is what God wants) and get back to work for the family, if one has a job.

    I also got and invitation , on the same day, to take on a retreat for our CPS (Precious Blood) nuns who are in vows from 5 to 20 yrs. It is supposed to be from June 4 to 10. Wow! But I accepted the challenge and am already remotely preparing. What a great opportunity, I think, to celebrate their 5 to 20 yrs. of commitment to the service of their community and to God’s people, and to plan for ongoing commitment into the future. What a privilege to be asked to accompany them on this part of their jour ney.

     Sunday, Jan. 25^th, was the usual commitment to the community at Savannah Park. A bigger crowd than usual and always a delight to be with them, although it is mostly in Zulu (MY Zulu, Ha! With a bit of Xhosa and English thrown in ) there are a few who are only English speaking but very few. About 70 people. When it comes to the greeting of peace before communion, I usually greet everyone and I start with the children where, instead of shaking hands, we have a couple of big hug-ins, as I would imagine Jesus would have done with the children in his day, and as any parent would do for their child (what parent shakes hands with his/her child. Ha!

     After the Mass, instead of taking lunch with the leader and his wife and kids at their home, I accepted an invitation to attend a memorial service for the mother-in-law of my eye doctor, Casandra Seethal.  This was an inspirational experience for me.  Casandra’s husband’s mother, was the one being remembered, 20 yrs. after her passing. Theresa Lazarus. A school teacher, grade one. It was inspiring to hear how those who still knew her appreciated what a beautiful and loving woman she was, explaining how she had touched their lives and made them better persons. I only realized, after hearing from a few people that I had known her sister, Cecilia Gabriel, who was one of the first women who “adopted” me, and Indian lady, also beautiful woman, loving but strict with her kids and with her husband, Johnny Gabriel, one of whose favorite sayings was “ I am the king in this house and whatever my wife says, shall be done.” I think that that said it all. I knew their family well and met Cecilia’s youngest brother, who still remembered me from all those years ago (going back to 1967—almost 50 yrs. now). We kind of rediscovered each other again.

Holy Moses, it is now Feb. 8. Time has been flying.

Let me start with the arrival of my grand niece (the daughter of my niece, John and Donna’s daughter Ann). Her name is Katrina and we (Sr. Gorette and I ) met her at the airport sun. Eve. Jan. 26. What a delight. We have been waiting for ever for her arrival. We took her to her 8 star flat at the orphanage here at Mariannhill (St. Vincent’s Home). Being kind as I always am, I let her sleep and get over her jetlag, a bit, and checked on her about 11am. We made a plan to take her shopping especially to get her cell phone operating. Ha! This modern stuff. Not a sim card but a nana-card, a tiny little thing. But we have got it and it worked. She got R50 of airtime. I tried phoning her and she got my call. All is well—we thought.

     I received a card from a friend I knew in Zimbabwe, who didn’t leave her email address so I had to send a reply via snail mail. I hardly go to the post office any more, but I got some beautiful stamps in case I have to do that again.

     I have kept myself busy cutting grass in between rains, collecting fallen branches, removing weeds, checking each day on Katrina (she is now working in the office and is a great help, plus being a big sister to all the little and not so little kids, who swamp her needing lots of TLC).

      On Friday, I went to our department store, Game, to get some printing paper and saw a stove (hob separate from the oven) on sale. So I bought it. It is for the man and his wife to look after our outstation and act as leaders and helpers. Their 20yr. old stove is slowly dying (two burners don’t work any more) so I thought that rather than try to patch up this old thing, it is, maybe, time to put something up to date in their small kitchen. I used the money that you send to help people with. It was R3200.00. That is $320. I don’t know how that compares with prices where you are at but it seemed a good buy from here. I won’t tell you the problems we had with credit and debit cards but it made the transaction frustratingly interesting. I told them to deliver it on Monday as I knew that I would be super busy on Saturday and Sunday, as well, forgetting that on Monday, we were celebrating the taking of vows of those who have now finished the novitiate (1^st year of discernment). Then there were others renewing their vows for another year (they have plenty of time to decide whether they want to stick out the religious life or to say goodbye, before they make their permanent commitment. Anyway, I forgot that Monday too would be a busy day/

    On Saturday I took Katrina with me to a friend who installed the new thermostat in my little vehicle and she was welcomed in the house and got her first taste of some Indian food (Samoosas, among other things). I gave her a break and then took her to another house Sat. night to meet the couple whose child we were going to baptize a week from that day. They showed her what a South Africa braai-vleis (cook out) was like. Since they are about her age, it was a good experience.

    Sunday, Feb. 1^st was Katrina’s birthday, so after Mass at the hospital, I took her to a nice restaurant overlooking the valley of a thousand hills where she could see a bit of rural KwaZulu Natal. It was rainy and cold but still enjoyable.

    Monday I spent time at the celebration for the vows (Mass ---maybe 3and ½ hrs. and the feast after that) and also  made sure to make our new novices from Mthatha feel welcome here in their new home for the year. They come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they spent a year in Mthatha in the postulancy, trying to learn some English as well as some Xhosa. Now they will be challenged by Zulu. But, in between, I was keeping an eye out for that stove. It finally came late in the after noon. The guys got lost and I had to go out and lead then to our house. We off loaded it and put it inside and I sent them off on their way as they still have many deliveries to make (it was after 5pm by then. Good luck to the deliveries)

     On Tuesday, I delivered the stove (Bishop Khumalo didn’t believe that I could get the stove into my little vehicle. We showed him. Of course, they were happy to receive the stove. I still haven’t stopped in to see if they installed it yet. Then I took Katrina back to where we got her nana-card because she discovered that she can receive calls but can’t  phone out. We discovered that the whole R50 was used up uploading stuff on her I-phone so there was no airtime left to phone out with. She had them shut off that part that did the automatic, sneaky, unannounced uploading so that it wouldn’t do that again.

    On Thursday I took Fr. Macarius to the  Ophthalmologist to have his eyes checked (Macular Degeneration—he gets an injection directly into his eye once every two months—ouch!, and the doctor was pleased that they had been stabilized. He has now moved permanently from Zambia and will be with us here at MD.) We then visited several other  priests who were nearby and who appreciated that we took the time to see them. Why not!

    Lots more grass cutting (when it rains, the grass grows faster than even children.) Br. Innocent helped a lot this time.

     I received pictures from my cousin Jean Hedstrom, of Aunt Rose Pietrusiak celebrating her 97^th  birthday, smilingly cutting the cake. What a delight to have her still with us. She is a family treasure, as is her faithful caregiver, Lita.

     Yesterday  I baptized Grace (Pienaar) at their church in a place called Kloof. The whole family, both sides where there (about 50 people or even more) and it was a delight. She smiled all the way. That is the second time I had a baby smiling all the way through the baptism ceremony. I must have caught on to something! We went to the reception at the home of the grandparents after that, and I left Katrina there since there were others of her age and they would probably be doing some dancing and enjoying themselves that night. I had work to do at home. In fact, I had just gotten home, about 3:45pm when I got an SMS to come to the hospital to anoint an man who was dying. (No rest for the wicked). I organized for the sister to meet me at the door.

     When we went to the ward, I discovered that it was a white male. Oh. I was prepared for Zulu. He couldn’t talk but wrote a few things in answer to my questions. What is your name, where do you come from, what is your church, etc. He wrote that he expected to die that night and wanted to get ready. His name is Philip, he comes from a place called Drummond (not far away) and is an Anglican. So, I told him to have a talk with the Lord and tell him that he was sorry for anything that you may have done or not done that hurt or disappointed God, ask God for forgiveness, and I will add my prayer to his giving him absolution ( a kind of affirmation that God, who always hears and forgives if one is really sorry, has forgiven him, and he now has a clean slate), then I anointed him with the healing oil of the sacrament of the sick. I then told him that he was as ready as anyone could be to head for home whenever he would get the call, but I doubted that it would be that night as he crunched the bones in my hand with his handshake. Not a sign that he is ready to take the final trip home yet. I will check him today. I told him that it really depended on God. If God thought that he wasn’t ready to go home yet, well, just swing with it and be patient. So, we shall see.

That’s it for now. Cas.

March 20, 2015

More than a month has gone by and I am behind, behind, behind. It reminds me of a sign that was on my boss’s desk at Kelsey Hayes. “The hurrier I go the behinder I get”. That seems to be me.

Here are some of the highlights of my adventures this past month.

1)      Monanyane (Mona).  One of the boys from Sabelani Home (Fr. Guy’s boys). He had a history of spoiling his education, high school, by joining his other two brothers drinking. He was warned many time but…. Well, Fr. Guy managed to get him a bursary to St. Mary’s nursing school. He pretended to have been beaten up and to have lost his money on his way to Mthatha about 2 months ago. He lied because the money he had been given was used to buy booze which made for a very enjoyable weekend. He was told that that will be the last time. He was given a reprieve. But not long after, he came back to the hostel drunk with his same friend and this time he was kicked out of the hostel by the authorities and told that, in mercy, he would be allowed to sit for his exams in May, but had to find a place to live outside somewhere.

April 4, 2015

     I give up. I can’t keep up. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I wonder how the families of the victims of the atrocities of ISIS and Boko Haram and Al Shabab and Taliban will be celebrating Easter this year, including the families of that deliberate plane crash into the mountain. They have already had their Good Friday (In Xhosa and in Zulu it is called—Olwesihlanu olumnyama---dark  Friday).  What a world we live in---violence, violence, violence (that includes those black American Families who have lost loved ones to some racist police—it is clear that racism is healthy and strong in my beloved homeland.

     Well, I guess that a part of the celebration of Easter is the revival of hope where it all seemed hopeless so that we can continue to try, at least, to live our Christianity, like Pope Francis, who puts his money where his mouth is. All those who experienced the revival of hope at that first Easter are long dead, and those who were closest to Jesus, eventually died like those victims of ISIS and the others. But we are the fruit of a hope that could not be crushed.

    I have been cutting lots of hair and lots of grass. Came across some sexual abuse of a young woman by a priest chaplain…attended a jazz concert,,,gave several workshops and attended a few… managed to get some material for my guy in Landsend so that he can get started making school uniforms for a local school and earn himself a living…visited the dentist…managed to use some of your gift money to buy a new stove for a family wholse 20yr. old stove was giving up the ghost…using some of that gift money also to pay the rent for one of Fr. Guy’s boys who is studying nursing, etc. etc. etc.

     However, let me simply wish you all who are taking the time to read this epistle, a very happy and hope-full Easter. The impossible has happened setting a precedent for anyone who thinks that there is something else that is not possible.  Love and Peace, as always, Cas.

PS. All holy week services in a combination of Zulu (my Zulu) and a smattering of English.

Feb. 4, 2015

Here goes.  Jan.. 22, I was called to anoint 2 people in the hospital. It is called the sacrament of the sick. It is meant to give healing to the body, if possible (God doesn’t really want people to suffer), and in the spirit (when one is seriously ill, one tends to think about one’s life, the ups and downs, the good things and the bad things (we are all sinners) and often, one thinks that maybe this is the time to ask for forgiveness for anything that one feels is not in keeping with what we know God expects of us, so that, if I am going to get the final call, I will be ready to go up the gates well prepared, and not caught with my pants down. It is always touching for me and somehow joyful to see the sick person experiencing a feeling of peace and relief.  I have had the experience too of others in the ward, who are listening and doing their own praying, saying, “ how about me too?” OK, not a problem. And I then remind everyone in the ward, regardless of denomination or no religion at all, that every day we are praying for them and putting the before God and asking God to hurry up and look after them so that they can get back home (if that is what God wants) and get back to work for the family, if one has a job.

    I also got and invitation , on the same day, to take on a retreat for our CPS (Precious Blood) nuns who are in vows from 5 to 20 yrs. It is supposed to be from June 4 to 10. Wow! But I accepted the challenge and am already remotely preparing. What a great opportunity, I think, to celebrate their 5 to 20 yrs. of commitment to the service of their community and to God’s people, and to plan for ongoing commitment into the future. What a privilege to be asked to accompany them on this part of their jour ney.

     Sunday, Jan. 25^th, was the usual commitment to the community at Savannah Park. A bigger crowd than usual and always a delight to be with them, although it is mostly in Zulu (MY Zulu, Ha! With a bit of Xhosa and English thrown in ) there are a few who are only English speaking but very few. About 70 people. When it comes to the greeting of peace before communion, I usually greet everyone and I start with the children where, instead of shaking hands, we have a couple of big hug-ins, as I would imagine Jesus would have done with the children in his day, and as any parent would do for their child (what parent shakes hands with his/her child. Ha!

     After the Mass, instead of taking lunch with the leader and his wife and kids at their home, I accepted an invitation to attend a memorial service for the mother-in-law of my eye doctor, Casandra Seethal.  This was an inspirational experience for me.  Casandra’s husband’s mother, was the one being remembered, 20 yrs. after her passing. Theresa Lazarus. A school teacher, grade one. It was inspiring to hear how those who still knew her appreciated what a beautiful and loving woman she was, explaining how she had touched their lives and made them better persons. I only realized, after hearing from a few people that I had known her sister, Cecilia Gabriel, who was one of the first women who “adopted” me, and Indian lady, also beautiful woman, loving but strict with her kids and with her husband, Johnny Gabriel, one of whose favorite sayings was “ I am the king in this house and whatever my wife says, shall be done.” I think that that said it all. I knew their family well and met Cecilia’s youngest brother, who still remembered me from all those years ago (going back to 1967—almost 50 yrs. now). We kind of rediscovered each other again.

Holy Moses, it is now Feb. 8. Time has been flying.

Let me start with the arrival of my grand niece (the daughter of my niece, John and Donna’s daughter Ann). Her name is Katrina and we (Sr. Gorette and I ) met her at the airport sun. Eve. Jan. 26. What a delight. We have been waiting for ever for her arrival. We took her to her 8 star flat at the orphanage here at Mariannhill (St. Vincent’s Home). Being kind as I always am, I let her sleep and get over her jetlag, a bit, and checked on her about 11am. We made a plan to take her shopping especially to get her cell phone operating. Ha! This modern stuff. Not a sim card but a nana-card, a tiny little thing. But we have got it and it worked. She got R50 of airtime. I tried phoning her and she got my call. All is well—we thought.

     I received a card from a friend I knew in Zimbabwe, who didn’t leave her email address so I had to send a reply via snail mail. I hardly go to the post office any more, but I got some beautiful stamps in case I have to do that again.

     I have kept myself busy cutting grass in between rains, collecting fallen branches, removing weeds, checking each day on Katrina (she is now working in the office and is a great help, plus being a big sister to all the little and not so little kids, who swamp her needing lots of TLC).

      On Friday, I went to our department store, Game, to get some printing paper and saw a stove (hob separate from the oven) on sale. So I bought it. It is for the man and his wife to look after our outstation and act as leaders and helpers. Their 20yr. old stove is slowly dying (two burners don’t work any more) so I thought that rather than try to patch up this old thing, it is, maybe, time to put something up to date in their small kitchen. I used the money that you send to help people with. It was R3200.00. That is $320. I don’t know how that compares with prices where you are at but it seemed a good buy from here. I won’t tell you the problems we had with credit and debit cards but it made the transaction frustratingly interesting. I told them to deliver it on Monday as I knew that I would be super busy on Saturday and Sunday, as well, forgetting that on Monday, we were celebrating the taking of vows of those who have now finished the novitiate (1^st year of discernment). Then there were others renewing their vows for another year (they have plenty of time to decide whether they want to stick out the religious life or to say goodbye, before they make their permanent commitment. Anyway, I forgot that Monday too would be a busy day/

    On Saturday I took Katrina with me to a friend who installed the new thermostat in my little vehicle and she was welcomed in the house and got her first taste of some Indian food (Samoosas, among other things). I gave her a break and then took her to another house Sat. night to meet the couple whose child we were going to baptize a week from that day. They showed her what a South Africa braai-vleis (cook out) was like. Since they are about her age, it was a good experience.

    Sunday, Feb. 1^st was Katrina’s birthday, so after Mass at the hospital, I took her to a nice restaurant overlooking the valley of a thousand hills where she could see a bit of rural KwaZulu Natal. It was rainy and cold but still enjoyable.

    Monday I spent time at the celebration for the vows (Mass ---maybe 3and ½ hrs. and the feast after that) and also  made sure to make our new novices from Mthatha feel welcome here in their new home for the year. They come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they spent a year in Mthatha in the postulancy, trying to learn some English as well as some Xhosa. Now they will be challenged by Zulu. But, in between, I was keeping an eye out for that stove. It finally came late in the after noon. The guys got lost and I had to go out and lead then to our house. We off loaded it and put it inside and I sent them off on their way as they still have many deliveries to make (it was after 5pm by then. Good luck to the deliveries)

     On Tuesday, I delivered the stove (Bishop Khumalo didn’t believe that I could get the stove into my little vehicle. We showed him. Of course, they were happy to receive the stove. I still haven’t stopped in to see if they installed it yet. Then I took Katrina back to where we got her nana-card because she discovered that she can receive calls but can’t  phone out. We discovered that the whole R50 was used up uploading stuff on her I-phone so there was no airtime left to phone out with. She had them shut off that part that did the automatic, sneaky, unannounced uploading so that it wouldn’t do that again.

    On Thursday I took Fr. Macarius to the  Ophthalmologist to have his eyes checked (Macular Degeneration—he gets an injection directly into his eye once every two months—ouch!, and the doctor was pleased that they had been stabilized. He has now moved permanently from Zambia and will be with us here at MD.) We then visited several other  priests who were nearby and who appreciated that we took the time to see them. Why not!

    Lots more grass cutting (when it rains, the grass grows faster than even children.) Br. Innocent helped a lot this time.

     I received pictures from my cousin Jean Hedstrom, of Aunt Rose Pietrusiak celebrating her 97^th  birthday, smilingly cutting the cake. What a delight to have her still with us. She is a family treasure, as is her faithful caregiver, Lita.

     Yesterday  I baptized Grace (Pienaar) at their church in a place called Kloof. The whole family, both sides where there (about 50 people or even more) and it was a delight. She smiled all the way. That is the second time I had a baby smiling all the way through the baptism ceremony. I must have caught on to something! We went to the reception at the home of the grandparents after that, and I left Katrina there since there were others of her age and they would probably be doing some dancing and enjoying themselves that night. I had work to do at home. In fact, I had just gotten home, about 3:45pm when I got an SMS to come to the hospital to anoint an man who was dying. (No rest for the wicked). I organized for the sister to meet me at the door.

     When we went to the ward, I discovered that it was a white male. Oh. I was prepared for Zulu. He couldn’t talk but wrote a few things in answer to my questions. What is your name, where do you come from, what is your church, etc. He wrote that he expected to die that night and wanted to get ready. His name is Philip, he comes from a place called Drummond (not far away) ancd is an Anglican. So, I told him to have a talk with the Lord and tell him that he was sorry for anything that you may have done or not done that hurt or disappointed God, ask God for forgiveness, and I will add my prayer to his giving him absolution ( a kind of affirmation that God, who always hears and forgives if one is really sorry, has forgiven him, and he now has a clean slate), then I anointed him with the healing oil of the sacrament of the sick. I then told him that he was as ready as anyone could be to head for home whenever he would get the call, but I doubted that it would be that night as he crunched the bones in my hand with his handshake. Not a sign that he is ready to take the final trip home yet. I will check him today. I told him that it really depended on God. If God thought that he wasn’t ready to go home yet, well, just swing with it and be patient. So, we shall see.

That’s it for now. Cas.

Jan. 21, 2015.
    Holy Moses, but time has flown. It is already almost three weeks since the last blog and lots of water over (or under ) the dam. Well, here goes...During that first week of Jan. I went down to Mthatha to celebrate the final  vows of Sr. Pauline Makoro whose first assignment is to be the "farm manager" of the convent of Glen Avent. Usually most youngsters don't want to get their hands dirty but his young woman has earth blood in her veins and will happily take the place of Sr. Ignatia (she was still driving the tractor at 83 yrs. of age) who felt that she could now die, which she did, because Pauline was there to take her place.
     I stayed with Fr. Guy and the boys at Sabelani while I moved around Lansend and Bedford to see how things are going there. Because of your generosity, I was able to help Nothemba at landsend with help for tuition for two of her kids. I also was able to help Sinovuyo with his sewing project. He is determined to make a living for himself and help others to learn as well through his sewing and designing of carrier bags, Afro-shirts, and just about anything else you want to order. He deserves support. Also I was able to help Nomonde with some funds for servicing her car and helping to pay off some other debts. She is overloaded with problems. Hopefully she can retire in two or three years and go back to running her preschool. She is a fantastic teacher. Siyamthanda is doing well in her studies and that was the big concern for Nomonde. She is still trying to swallow the tragic death of her son Lita.
     The Bedford project which was meant to generate income for our province is going along but needs more input from the Mthatha community, I think. Fr. Guy and his guys helped once more by cutting the grass so that people are happy to live in what is like a nice park with mown lawns and lots of nice trees.
     A friend and board member of Sabelani Home invited Guy and I to lunch one day as we all were, happily, together before heading off in our different directions again. But he had a trick up his sleeve. After the lunch, which included a few mutual friends and Fr. Malinga, our canon lawyer, who came up to join us for a day or two, Mr. Rod Allen, representing the Rotary International presented to Guy and me a kind of citation that recognizes the work that we have done in the Mthatha community in trying to uplift and improve the life of the Mthatha community. Fr. Guy is the one who deserves it much more than me. Guy would never have come if he had known that Rod had this trick up his sleeve. It is also interesting to note that the
Church never recognized the contribution that Guy made through Sabelani home and its activities for the community, nor did Mariannhill, the religious community that we both belong to , recognize his work with the community. It had to take a civic organization, with its eyes open to what Guy was doing there at Sabelani home and in the neighborhood, and to encourage its continuation by paying this tribute to Guy, e.g. the Rotary International. Some achievement. So much for our church and religious communities.
     After the return to MD (Mater Dolorosa--the retirement home here at Mariannhill), I managed to terminate my contract with Mweb since it was costing me R299 a month for unlimited access to the internet, which was beautiful, but which had the hitch that the MTN signal here is so poor that it couldn't be used. I filled in the form that was given to me earlier but when I took it back to that office they said it was no longer done that way but had to be done on the internet. Ha! More fun and games. After an hour on the phone to try to get things moving in that direction, I was told to enter my password. Have you ever had that experience. Hell's teeth. It is two years since I opened that contract and I don't even remember having a password. After jumping through a few more hoops, we finally got that done. Now i have to make sure by phoning them that they really and actually termnate the contact and stop relieving my account of the R299 a month. They will continue unless you follow up and stop them
     I also stopped to visit a few families along the way on my way back from Mthatha and renewed old friendships that go as far back as 1966. I think that is my feminine side coming out. I really appreciate and treasure relationships. 
     I was also involved in a beautiful house blessing (the parish priest whom I help by taking his outstation several times a month did the job with me accompanying him with a pail full of holy water and a big brush used when laying blocks for a sprinkler, you would have laughed). We blessed, I am sure, at least 6 bedrooms, each with en suite bathrooms, toiilets and showers, and lots of other rooms. It was the biggest house I have ever been in in Africa. The woman whom I have known since she was a kid, who is now the wife of the owner, came from the typical 4 room township house together with her 7 siblings and parents. So this is really an achievement for her. I am sure that with the customary extended family, many of those rooms will soon be put to good use.
    I also managed , with several hitches, to get a new contract for R69 a month (instead of R299 a
month) for 1 GB a month, which, I think, will be sufficient for me. I had to go back three times to have some corrections and adjustments made to the modem but it is finally working now. How can we live today without access to email, Google, etc.???
    Yesterday I went back to the eye doctor who took the pressure in my eyes and found that it has come down dramaticallly and she (they  and me) is happy with the low, low pressure, thanks to the drops I put in each night. But, another cataract in the left eye is starting to grow and it won't be long before I will need that done as well. We shall wait and see.
     I saw the most horrible photo, gruesome, that I have ever seen in my life yesterday while I was looking for information about the saint of the day. I don't know how I got onto this but there was an article about ISIS and how it is trying to frighten the Christians in its path into becoming Muslims. There as a photo taken of a group of these ISIS people, holding a woman down while they were cutting her throat and catching the blood running out of her neck into a bowl on the floor. Ugly, gruesome. Hard to believe. I can't get that picture out of my mind. Another picture, almost as bad shows a father lifting up his 8 yr. old child, with a beautiful dress, but without a head. It had been cut off. Oh my God! We are told, over and over again, that we abhor violence and that violence begets violence, but can one just stand by and let this happen? Holy Moses!
    The Pope is making headlines these days with his nuancing of contraception and encouraging, so it seems, peolple to use their heads when it comes to planning an economically viable family (we are not, he said, expected to breed like rabbits, or something like that). We will have to see where this goes. I was also touched to see how he was moved to hug the little girl who asked him how God could allow such terrible things to happen to little children who were innocent, like her, who had to eat out of garbage cans and sleep on  a piece of cardboard while fighting off pimps who want to exploit her or get he onto drugs. Her life, she said, was a nightmare. The Pope tried to explain about suffering, but what can you say to a hurting and suffering child to take the hurt away. An attempt at explaining, philosiphically or theologically, the deeper meaning of suffering is going to do what???
We know that God hates the suffering ten million times more than we but how do you help to hearl this poor child.
     Hey, I have been asked to go to the hospital to anoint several people who may be taking the last few steps of their journey here on earth. What a privilege to accompany them like this and to remind them that the need not be afraid. A loving father, a forgiving father, a compassionate father, is waiting for them with open arms. Have a great 2015. Cas.