O.S.A.’s in S.A. from the U.S.A.

Hi Everyone:

This morning I was up by 5:30, unlocking doors (12 of them), pulling blinds and drawing curtains to let the sunshine in. Yes, the sun was up already and shinning brightly too. When I unlocked the front door and looked out towards the main gate, to my surprise just inside the gate was a monkey. I hurried to my office for a camera in the hopes of getting a picture. On returning my animal friend was no longer to be found.

It is the time of day when the weather is pleasantly cool, an ideal time for a meditative walk in our parking area behind the wrought iron fence which stretches a fair distance running parallel to Old Main Road, number 79. It is a good time to pray the rosary while walking about as trees are in bloom and the sun rises ever so quickly. A number of bikers whiz by as early as 4:30 and for that matter, walkers and joggers too before rush hour.

After a decade on the rosary, I hear a lot rustling in the trees. I look up, way up and see monkeys, a good number of them swinging from branch to branch and tree to tree - at least ten of them. What came to mind were those old Tarzan movies and without missing a beat, I tried to remember the name of Tarzan’s monkey. Was it Cheeta?

Several monkeys alighted on the church and rectory roof s. I took a picture of them. One, started to come towards me. It may have wanted food. I didn’t know what to expect or what I would be in for, so I decided to go inside and to the chapel to continue Morning Prayers.

This morning a Zulu lady came to the office in need of a recommendation from the pastor for her 8th grade daughter in order to be accepted into an area Catholic School. I obliged. Father Benji patiently waited for me and we were off together for a visit to St. Leo School. I have a meeting with the principal, two teachers and two of our Augustinian Volunteers.

The purpose of the meeting was to try to address some school needs. First on the agenda was an outstanding water bill calling for a payment of R 3,000. Next, was an attempt to solve the problem of wind-driven sand which surrounds the school buildings and causes all kinds of irritation to the children as it gets into their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and somehow a parasite finds its way under their skin too. I suggested an overall plan as the area is considerable and the project will need to be well thought out if it is to serve the school community for years to come.

Per se, the school is not Catholic, though most of the teachers and the student body are. Lindiwe, the school principal, requests Mass at the beginning and ending of each semester, of which there are four.
Father Bill asked that I find out the cost of food for a family: husband, wife and two children per week. The answer I received was R 200. Merely divide the rand by six and you will have the estimated cost in American dollars.

It was brought to my attention that the janitor who practically does everything by way of services rendered by a maintenance crew, oversees the property even when school is let out. He gets a mere R 500 per month. I asked what the wage should be. They tell me three times that amount. Presently, he is paid out of the money received from student tuition which they tell me is R 75 per child.

This meeting was an eye opener in a number of ways for me and perhaps for you too. A computer for the administrator’s office would cause much rejoicing, for sure. Nine classrooms are without electricity and during a certain time of the day, the students can no longer see writing on the chalkboard. The cost of a fan and electricity for one of those classrooms is R 1,000 and there are nine of them.

The list could go on and on I am sure as you have already surmised. They are also in need of approximately 100 combination desk, chair and drawer sets which are priced at R 800 per set.

The last piece of news for the day came at 5:20 this afternoon for a second appointment with a couple who are contemplating marriage at Our Lady of Mercy Church. The gentleman believes he is a Catholic and has actually been coming to our church for sometime with his fiancée, Miki Mrwetyana who is an Anglican. Here’s a question for Fr. Bill’s canonical opinion.

The Zulu custom is for the lady to follow the religion of the man when marrying. Her future husband Sifiso Dlamini was a baptized Catholic, so he thought. Since our first meeting, credible witnesses have told him he never was baptized. They are open to joining our RCIA program. How reasonable is it for a young couple to wait for a year and a half, complete the course and then get married when they had their hopes on marrying at Easter time, 2006? Fr. Al

This entry was posted on Monday, February 6th, 2006 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Happennings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.