Morning Mirror Edition 192 - 12/6/2006




In this edition

Smalls



FATHER ODILO




Father Odilo Weeger CMM has died.

Our city of Bulawayo is much the poorer without the strength of this Great Man.

He touched all of our lives with no thought of race, colour or creed. He remembered everyone, he remembered our names, our family members, our hobbies and our friends.

He sought only to spread his love and the love of the Lord to each and every person in the Matabeleland community.

His life spanned many decades, his strength, his devotion to Christ, his devotion to this City and this province, will be remembered by everyone who came in contact with this remarkable man.

Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants, Baptists, the Jewish Community, every single person of every single religion, was encompassed by his extraordinary aura of love for his fellow man.

We will miss you father Odilo, our hearts and minds are heavy at your passing, but will always be filled with your light and your love.

"Together, we see new leaves glowing against the sun, green hillsides shimmering with the breeze, the bright purple bursts of lupine. And it's okay if there is nothing beyond this, because there is this: life, everlasting, in the bloom of every flower." --Jamaica Ritcher

M.K.

AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN - FATHER ODILO

Father Odilo was born in the historic farming village of Arberg, in Franken, Germany on 14th October 1912. He died on Thursday 8th June 2006, in Mater Dei Hospital, with his nephew Max Weeger there from Germany and the comfort of the last sacraments and prayers going up from there and all over the world.
He learned the dignity and values of honest hard work and the finest of moral and religious traditions from his modest but very good family. He was in the last group of missionaries that was allowed to leave Germany in 1938 and he gave his whole life to mission work in Matabeleland.
He was a wonderful man who committed his life fully to God, and to serving the many peoples of Zimbabwe. One of his sermons, especially at baptisms, was about living our lives like candles. He certainly did exactly that - giving light and warmth and consuming himself in the process.

He had a genuine love for and interest in people, across a most surprising and wide range. He maintained contact personally with so many people whom he considered his personal friends and those of us fortunate to be included knew his concern and felt his prayers.
He had a deep reservoir of natural and acquired wisdom and human understanding and he appreciated God's loving provision for us all in the beauty and complexity of creation, the earth and all life on it and the stars and all of the ever-more revealed universe.
He appreciated the finer things in life, like art, music and etiquette and supported many community presentations and efforts with his presence.
His strong sense of justice suffered greatly from the absurd removal of his own rights as a Zimbabwean resident for over 65 years, as well as the growing culture of impunity and disregard for basic rights that has done so much in our country.
He made friends from all races religions and was especially committed to reaching out to non-Catholic Christians and many Jewish friends and his memory for names and details was extraordinary. He was a self- disciplined and totally dedicated Catholic priest, but he found an amazing amount of time to attend to sick visits and the pastoral needs of innumerable people, irrespective of race or creed.
Although we all feel his loss personally and keenly, we can be confident that he himself will be granted his heavenly reward and that we have an unique ally who will intercede for our many needs.
May his dear soul rest in peace.
John L. Sullivan


CONGRATULATIONS



CONGRATULATIONS

Hendrik Oosthuizen and Laraine King are thrilled to announce their engagement.


SYMPATHY MESSAGES


CONDOLENCES'

CHAMBERS Phillip. Taken suddenly to be with the Lord. Beloved husband of Fiona and cherished Dad of Rebecca, Angus, Tim and the late Kieron.

ROBIN BOYD passed away on 4th June 2006. A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, 14th June 2006 at 3.30pm at Chirst the King Catholic Church, Cecil Avenue, Bulawayo.

Rod Clark, passed away very suddenly on 28th may. Precious husband of Shirley, beloved father of Shane, Debbie & Adam, Grandfather of Matthew, Brad, David & Ashley. The light has gone out of our world.



It is with profound sadness that I learned of the passing of Fr Odilo from Garry and Nicky this morning.
I have memories of Fr Odilo from Kumalo School forty years ago right up to the time when he helped me deal with the issue of death at the time of my mother's passing two years ago sharing his last Liebschenkoeken with me in his normal unselfish way. Mum and Fr Odilo were friends for almost sixty years. His message was that death is something beautiful, not to be feared and, despite the fact I am quite certain that the gates of heaven have been flung wide open for him and that he is entirely happy, can't help feeling very sad that his inimitable spirit, love and innate goodness will not be mine to share until we too meet again.
He will be enormously missed by all.
It is not possible for me to pay my respects at his service this coming week and so I would be terribly grateful if you would record my love and respect for this special, special man as a rather inadequate gesture to all the love he showed me and so many others who cannot be in Bulawayo at this time. It is at times like this that we feel terribly homesick.
Much love
Malcolm Ainscough


TIDBITS


BEST JOKE !! Subject: Is the duck dead?

A woman brought a very limp duck into a vet. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the Bird's' chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so Sorry, your duck has passed away." The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm quite sure. The duck is dead," he replied. "How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any Testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something." The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room and returned A few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind Legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck From top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook His head. The vet patted the dog and took it out, and returned a few moments later with a cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly And strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this Is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "£150!", she cried - "£150 just to tell me my duck is dead?" The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry." "If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been £20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now £150."




People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile. --Lee Mildon


Fact of the Day: We study twins, chimps and lottery winners, but still don't understand happiness. In his new book, 'Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile', Dr. Daniel Nettle suggests that although people believe they will be happier in the future, they in fact seldom are; that societies don't get happier as they get richer; and that people are consistently wrong about the impact of future life-events on their happiness. "People may like to take a walk in the park, or play with their kids and so on, but what they want might be to get a promotion, earn more and buy a bigger house," Nettle says. To be happy, one must learn to be satisfied. [ more ]




You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be -- I had a mother who read to me. --Strickland Gillilan




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