The
years 1976 to
2017 have been a time of special
blessing. Not only for St. Joseph’s and the people around Bajpe, but
especially for us Christian Brothers.
For it was in 1976 that the people of Bajpe greeted us with a warmth
that outshone the welcome offered to us in other parishes.
And
this amazing love story began. We came
to teach, and to do what Christian Brothers do.
And we were overwhelmed with the love and affection we received. Yes, it was our intention, as ever, to reveal
to people the unconditional love of God, not just through our academic efforts,
but in our efforts to be Brothers, your brothers -
letting you share our life of prayer, of living in community, and our
endeavour to make learning a joyful experience.
Every
one of us has come away evangelized by what we experienced. It is a regular feature of St. Joseph’s that many students go home at
6.30 pm - these are students in need of some special
help, and their teachers are staying on late to give them the attention that
they crave, and the message that they are worthwhile. This compassion is exactly what Blessed
Edmund Rice would have expected of his Christian Brothers. The atmosphere we experience in the staff
rooms is no different from that in our own community room. We are family, sisters and brothers all.
It
was not with a clap of thunder that Mr. Rice heard the call to be Brother
Edmund : he heard the voice of God,
instead, as the misery of children in need that wrung at his heart, and good
friends that encouraged him to be something he never dreamed he could be. And, among our friends in St. Joseph’s, this is what we have been
privileged to observe for forty years.
People who have children to look after before they come to the
classroom, and sometimes aged parents to care for when they return ; and still you continue, relentlessly, to give
of yourselves, with a joy that we cannot but admire. The students are inspired to find their God
as we do, in the events of our lives and the people around us, rather than
waiting to pray in a place of worship.
There
have been times when some of us, too, needed a friend - to
cope with a difficult situation at work, or the tension of a relative in pain
while we are far away - and we have been
gifted with friends who offered their presence, even if they could not
comprehend exactly what we were going through.
Sometimes, when we were at meetings of Brothers outside Bajpe, we would
be saying hurried goodbyes, and Brothers would tease us, “So
- why are you hurrying back
? Is there somebody special there
?” Yes, indeed, yes, there was
somebody special. We will be forever
grateful, that you permitted us to be ourselves, to love in the way that
Christian Brothers love.
All
this means that there will be a deep sadness as we leave, this time with the
sinking certainty that we will not be returning in the same way. It is something we have to cope with, and we
have to believe that our love will never be conquered by distance.
However,
we will be proud that the values of Blessed Edmund Rice, the values of the
Jesus he followed, continue to propel the people who lead St. Joseph’s.
You may not call yourselves Christian Brothers, but you have been our
sisters and brothers for forty years, and that does not change. You have given us your permission for us to
go to people whose needs are greater.
Your sense of loss makes you a stakeholder in our new mission among
them.
It
is so amazingly similar to the
“logo” of the Christian Brothers,
that there could be no finer symbol : of
the new management moving in, assured of the continued blessing of the Almighty
who carried us for the last forty years.
Thank
you for who you have been to us.
Br.
A. Len Noronha, cfc
former
Correspondent
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