Pastor’s Corner for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, by Fr. Bruce Botha SJ
“Parting is such sweet sorrow”.
Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet said, “Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.” What I think he meant is that saying farewell and the time of absence makes the moment of reuniting an even more joyful one. And so, the time has come for me to say my farewells, though I know that we will be encountering one another again, whether it be penitential services, the Christmas lunch for the homeless, or one of the parish fundraisers. And our joy will be even greater for the absence which has allowed the space of our longing to grow.
“Goodbyes make you think. They make you realize what you’ve had, what you’ve lost, and what you’ve taken for granted.” – Ritu Ghatourey
What I have had is a community that tried its best to be welcoming to all people from all walks of life. And this welcome has been powerful in the life of our faith community, because it has drawn people in, and made them stay. Each year our RCIA group is a testimony to that. So thank you for being this community of welcome and love. It is probably this which I shall miss most about Holy Trinity, and what I will do my best to recreate at St Martin de Porres, Craighall Park.
It is a community that is outward-looking and takes seriously its obligation to serve. I see this is in how we feed and clothe and minister and give dignity to the poor and homeless. The camaraderie of Monday evening service has been something I look forward to all week. I am proud of what we as a community have done and are doing.
Our liturgy is of the highest quality, arguably the best in Johannesburg, with great variety across the 3 Sunday parish masses. It also draws people in and lifts heart and soul to the Lord. These moments of elevation are also why people keep on returning to our church. This is the result of hard work and dedication across many years by our director of music and many others.
Trinity would not be Trinity without the wonderful students and young people that I have walked alongside over the past few years. I will treasure the conversations had over hot chocolate after cell group and the parish student mass.
And it all happens here, in Braamfontein, this melting pot of people and cultures from all over Africa and the rest of the world. I look out of my window and see buildings and people and life happening right in front of me. Sometimes it is noisy and sometime dead quiet, especially during varsity holidays. It has now become home. These are my streets, my people, and I will miss them very much.
Thank you for all that you have done for me during the years here, and for welcoming my leadership and service. I will miss you. Pray for me, as I will pray for you.