Thousands of Catholic congregants converged at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish famously known as Motse Maria in Doornspruit, Ga- Mashashane outside Polokwane on Sunday 17th September 2023 to celebrate the church’s hundred years of existence.
The fifteen parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Polokwane gathered to celebrate the church which was built in 1922 by the Catholic missionaries and their annual diocesan pilgrimage. The day started with the blessing of the missionaries’ memorable stone of commemoration by His Lordship Reverend Bishop Jeremiah Masela, a short history of the mission narrated by Mr. Peter Ledwaba born at the mission’s hospital (St. Joseph’s) and became the teacher of Motse Maria school for girls, followed by the Holy Mass, then procession with the Blessed Sacrament and concluded by the unveiling of the missionaries’ memorial plaque.
According to His Lordship Reverend Bishop Jeremiah Masela “The celebration of the centenary of Doornspruit Mission is indeed a very important milestone in the history of the Diocese of Polokwane. It gives us all an opportunity to remember and honour the Benedictine and Diocesan Priests, the Sisters of Charity and the Laity who have worked with so much dedication and commitment to make a very meaningful contribution towards the Evangelisation of our people. The missionaries who came from Belgium to spread the message of the gospel in our area were indeed very passionate about their work and they have left us with a foundation to build on. Saint Paul writes this in his First Letter to the community of Corinth about the work of evangelisation that he carried among them and the role of those who came after him: “ According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder laid a foundation and another is building on it” ( 1 Cor. 3;12)
During his homily, His Lordship Reverend Bishop Jeremiah Masela emphasised that catholic faith is our heritage. We are all called to take an active part in the vineyard of the Lord. It begins from family life that we should become good examples to those who are around us. We should not become church goers but Christians to become the light and salt to the world.
“This celebration is surely a moment for us to do some introspection in terms of our own contribution on keeping alive the memories of those who came before us in the work of evangelisation. Our involvement in building a church that is self-supporting and self propagating requires that we all make a wholehearted contribution towards the mission of the Church. Saint Paul in the same Letter to the Corinthians acknowledges and appreciates the involvement of those who came after him to continue the work of evangelisation in that community. He regards them as “God’s co-workers” who build on the foundation” with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, or straw” (1 Cor. 3:12)
Doornspruit mission produced a number of religious figures, amongst them, two Bishops. i.e. The late Rt. Rev. Bishop Mogale Nkhumishe (indirectly linked to Doornspruit), Rt. Rev. Bishop Jeremiah Madimetja Masela. The parish is currently served by the sons of the soil, the Canon Lawyer Very Rev. Father Elias Ramagashanya Ledwaba who was appointed Parish priest in 2022 and his parochial vicar Rev. Father Madidimalo John Legodi ordained in 2022.
According to the Parish priest Very Rev. Father Elias Ramagashanya Ledwaba and his Curate Rev. Father Madidimalo John Legodi, the missionaries were really inspiring for they took literally the words of Pope Paul VI that the “The Church exists in order to evangelize, that is to say in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s Sacrifice in the Mass” (EN). This is indeed our mission today; we have to become an evangelizing community especially in our society that is confronted by a serious moral decay; where family life is facing modern challenges. Those missionaries played their part; it is our turn now to take the Church’s mission forward so that the next generation may receive the uncontaminated message of Christ handed on to us by the Apostles. We are grateful to be part of the celebration of these pioneers who left their homes and because of the gospel message which was like “fire burning in [their] hearts, imprisoned in [their] bones” (Jer. 20:9).
