I knew a man who had a farm and towards the end of his life we were talkingabout what he had achieved. ‘I want to leave the place better than I found it,’ hesaid. I have often thought of that simple ambition. He had no desire to makeexcessive money or make a name for himself in the locality. He just ...
The parables describe obvious situations which are not difficult to interpret andmost people are either encouraged by them to keep going or shocked intoquestioning their own lives. But it can happen that they are twisted to fit acurrent way of thinking that is not obvious and which can distort them.The story of the ten bridesmaids or virgins is an example. ...
PRAYER INTENTION FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER For the Pope: We pray for the Holy Father: as he fulfils his mission, may he continue to accompany the flock entrusted to him, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We pray for the Holy Father; as he fulfils his mission, may he continue to accompany the flock entrusted to him, with ...
How quickly we have forgotten the lessons of lockdown. Planes no longer flew and we could hear the song of the bird. It was a war without weapons but with the soldiers on duty day and night spending themselves for the casualties with the same intensity and risk. Those closest to us became precious for we never knew; would they ...
This Sunday, we do not have a story about what Jesus did; it is simply what hesays. His words are introduced by Ezekiel’s idea of the prophet as a watchman.Many houses and institutions in Harare have watchmen or watch women. It is alonely – even dangerous task. It is akin to the shepherd who guards his flock bynight. It is ...
Jesuit Brother Bvukumbgwe, who died in 2002, was a composer whose songsare widely used in Church liturgies in Zimbabwe. One who knew him wrote:Many of his songs come to him in his dreams at night. He would rise from his bed,sing or hum them into a cassette and go back to sleep. In the morning he played thecassette to his ...
So it is election time. Someone threw a flyer over our gate. His priorities arewater, roads and refuse collection. Nothing very revolutionary there. Basicneeds. But basic needs not yet met. After all these years. Is the candidate‘blowing in the wind’? Is there any prospect of these basic things being done?Are we just ritually marking up one more election? We go ...
First voice: ‘It was so unfortunate for me when I got arrested by plain clothespolice after taking some photos of the government party giving maize to poorpeople. I resisted arrest at first, but they handcuffed me and produced their IDs.It was around 11am when they threw me into the cells without taking anystatement. My mobile and shoes had been surrendered ...
I visited a farmer who employs upwards from 60 to 450 workers depending onthe seasons. He is not the owner but a manager employed by another managerof several farms who works for the owner, a war veteran of the Zimbabwe warof Liberation. The farmer, who once owned his own farm before RobertMugabe’s Land Reform, has accepted his new situation, not ...
For those of us whose daily tool is no longer a badza or an axe but a laptop, thefirst word that pops up when we turn it on is ‘Welcome’! There is a widespectrum in which that word occurs. At one extreme, like with the laptop, it is afunction of a business relationship – the equivalent of saying, ‘thank you ...
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