AN ICONIC LEADER IS GONE

 Sir,

“Death is the penalty we pay for the privilege of life.”
Whenever death strikes, be it to someone close, distant or unknown, I always think of the above quote.
How precious is the gift of life! It is a privilege, not a right.

Human nature is prone to viewing or has the propensity to view the gift of life as a right. How disastrous that attitude can be.
We, as humans, always think that life is a birth right and live it according to our own terms, forgetting that there is a Higher Authority, who owns the very breath we breath.
He has a right to dictate how we live our lives.

He created us for a specific purpose - to serve Him and give glory to Him, all the days of our lives. He can snuff out the breath of life at any instance.
But He, being so loving and generous, has infinite patience with us.

privileged

We constantly grieve Him by our wayward behaviours. We fail to live in harmony with others, extending humanitarian help to the less privileged, when we have the means of doing so.
In most instances, something viewed as a privilege is often abused and taken as a right to our own peril. As humans, we need to take the gift of life as a privilege, cherish it, help others of lesser status, make the most of it while we are still alive, and in the process leave a legacy that will be emulated for ages to come by succeeding generations. It is no use flaunting your wealth, wearing glittering jewellery and clothes adorned with gold or diamonds, when you have people you can offer help to, but you deliberately turn a blind eye to.

When death strikes, all the silver or gold you  cannot carry with you to that dark and lonely hole in the ground. We came with nothing and will leave with nothing when the death knell strikes.
silently
It is on this premise that I wish to point out that after receiving the sad news of the passing away of Father Larry McDonnell, who was my school head teacher at Salesian Boys High school in Manzini from 1972 to 1976.
I silently said to myself “here is a man who took his life as a privilege, not as a right and made the best out of it”.
A man who worked these socks off to make a difference to the lives of his fellow human beings and boy! Did he excel?

He performed so many amazing feats of selflessness to a people not of his country of birth.
He fulfilled his missionary duties, together with his kinsmen, the Salesian missionaries, with a distinction of note.
He forsack the comforts of living in the country of his birth, and like Abraham, listened to God’s command of coming to a foreign and unknown land, where he was to perform amazing feats of humanitarian help to a motley crowd of disadvantage people in the kingdom of Eswatini.

distinction

He was a leader, disciplinarian, intellect, a missionary who lived his life with a distinction.
He commanded his troops, that is, us his students and teaching staff, with a military precision and with a loving Hawkeye.
During his time as a school head teacher, the school was renowned for its academic achievements continent-wide.  Parents from as far as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe clamoured to enrol their children in this school of unparalleled academic excellence.

We excelled not only in the academic field but in the sporting field, as well. We bested surrounding schools in almost all disciplines and Larry was at the helm directing proceedings. His works of charity in the country are for all to witness. The Manzini Industrial Training Centre, Bosco Hall is all his works of benevolence?  If we were a country that rewarded exceptional leadership skills in the education sector, he would have made a fitting Minister of Education.

recruited

I and many other ex-students of the school credit the staff he recruited with an eye for talent, for my grasp of the Queen’s language. I credit our ex-teachers and McDonnell for my writing works which are applauded by many.
Death, you should be burying your head in shame for robbing us of such an iconic leader.

Father Larry McDonnell has run his race and like many saints before him of the calibre of Paul, Peter, Job and hordes of others, he awaits the crown of glory from Him who created the heavens and the earth.
May his soul rest in peace as he awaits the resurrection from his place of rest. Shalom!

Alex Nxumalo 76058449

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