Blessed to have stood on the shoulders of,
blessed to have eaten on the palms of,
blessed to have sat at the bosom of
three giants, three fathers, three mentors.
To a mentor, a teacher, a facilitator!
To a father, a brother, a liberator!
Dear Fr Len, when on your 80th Birthday,
I penned you a poem on gratitude and affirmation;
when in 2017, I penned lyrics on Privilege St Anselm,
I wasn’t sure I’ll have to pen this for you at 89 at death!
When in 2018, I penned and dared Fr J Nielen a sui generis
and later made lyrics to my maternal grandfather, Fine Njase –
my grandfather and all grandfathers worth the name,
no one hesitates to see you in that category.
Looking into our eyes, one saw nothing pretentious or ambitious or fake,
just a genuine genius like Pope Francis and unmistakably
a man of prayer, of Scripture, of Liturgy –
a man of the Blessed Trinity, of compassion, of empathy, of vision and dreamwork!
A man who saw loopholes in seminary training, in Church Structures,
in politics, in the media, in many broken lives and did something about it,
a man of courage, passion, fortitude and resilience!
Tribute to the priest and father who touched thousands of lives,
tribute to the priest and father who believed and loved and hoped against hope,
Tribute to the priest and father who dared to make psycho-spirituality –
psychoanalysis, personal development and transformational leadership –
so real, so simple, so practical!
Go well, lover and champion of the Blessed Trinity,
go well, teacher and leader of a healthy relationship with God, self, others and the environment.
Go well, teacher and leader in facing crisis, conflicts, sexuality, self-esteem, bereavement, dreams, defence mechanisms…
Your published works on Leadership and Formation, Looking After Yourself, Healing Relationships, Healing Groups, Building Positive Relationships… are your legacies or encyclicals to live on.
You spoke passionately on the virtue of humility with or without humiliation –
you spoke of our founder, Herbert Vaughan, on his dying bed, desperate to give birth
to a book on Humility!
On your last years and dying bed, you were desperate to give birth
to a book on the Mystical Journey,
like Joseph Ratzinger, in many ways, you knew and know
you don’t go through the dark, lonely door of death alone,
We accompany you with prayers, love, admiration and gratitude.
Go forth, Christian soul!
Go forth to your maker, Father, Saviour, Creator!
Go forth to the fullness of life with the Blessed Trinity
whom you knew, loved, adored, served, and taught!
Go forth to your eternal reward!
We can’t wait to meet you there after our life, mission, and journey are done!
Thank you grandfather,
Thank you sui generis,
Thank you trailblazer,
L’homme gentil, l’homme fort, l’homme courageux, l’homme d’expérience,
L’homme simple, l’homme de tous les dossiers, le grand maître de notre temps!
Adieu, à Dieu!
Emmanuel Mbeh, MHM
