Sacred Heart Parish Ackerville

Sacred Heart Parish Ackerville Catholic parish serving the communities of Ackerville, Lynville and Thushanang. Clergy: Fr Shako and Fr Mavimbela, Deacons Mazibuko and Nkosi
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Two of the Comboni missionaries,Fr Josef Angerer and Fr Zorn, remained for a while at Mariannhill to learn the Zulu language. The following year, in 1925, Fr Josef Angerer arrived in Witbank to do the work of evangelization among the Black people. Although Fr Josef had very little funds, he managed to build a primary school called Maloma School at the Driefontein Mission. Fr Angerer used to travel

by motor bike. The Dominican Sisters from town helped him and Sr Bernard Rinkes and others used to walk all the way from their convent in town to Driefontein Mission to help with the teaching at the new Maloma School. After eight years of hard work the mission had about 100 Catholics and another four catholic schools were operating in different farms and coal- mining areas of Witbank such as Uitspan,Phoenix,Kromdraai and Mariasoord. The newly built church - which included a choir loft - was blessed on 24 June 1934 and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Dominican sisters also helped in the sacristy and directed the church choir. With the aid of a newly purchased motor car, the sisters were able to serve Catholics as far as Balmoral,Kendal and even Middleburg. When Fr Josef left the parish in 1938, there were over 300 Catholics worshiping at the mission and the five catholic schools were teaching about 600 pupils in total. It was also at this time that the Women of St Anne and the Catholic Men's associations began to take root in the parish. Fr Klemm and Fr Tremmel succeeded Fr Josef. After the first 25 years of parish life, the Witbank Town Council began to develop a Black Township and began building a school for higher standards. Apartheid became the official policy of the government which made it impossible for Black people to own these houses. Anyone who stayed at the Mission had to receive permission from the Town Council and this permission could be withdrawn at any time. The Town Council even insisted that there would be no compensation given to the Mission in the event of expropriation of the mission land and property by the municipality. Also the Witbank Town Council began to make more demands on the Catholic Church to give up more of the mission land. For example, the Town Council forced the Mission to close the Catholic cemetery and to use the muncipal cemetery instead.

28/09/2023
Kofifi event 24 September 2023
28/09/2023

Kofifi event 24 September 2023

Brother Mthokozisi Mthombeni was installed as an Acolyte on the 12th of October 2022 at St John Vianney Seminary, by Bis...
18/10/2022

Brother Mthokozisi Mthombeni was installed as an Acolyte on the 12th of October 2022 at St John Vianney Seminary, by Bishop John Masilo Selemela, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Pretoria.

We continue to pray for him and all the other Seminarians of our Diocese

What a day with abo Gogo be Bandla
01/08/2022

What a day with abo Gogo be Bandla

eMalahleni Deanery Corpus Christi Celebration
19/06/2022

eMalahleni Deanery Corpus Christi Celebration

Ukhholo... Ulwazi... Isenzo
05/06/2022

Ukhholo... Ulwazi... Isenzo

As we Pray for you Brs
04/06/2022

As we Pray for you Brs

07/05/2022
MY PERSONAL OPINIONTOPIC: I AM A CATHOLIC PRIEST AND SHE SAID, "THANK YOU FATHER.".When I went to renew my drivers licen...
26/04/2022

MY PERSONAL OPINION
TOPIC: I AM A CATHOLIC PRIEST AND SHE SAID, "THANK YOU FATHER.".

When I went to renew my drivers license yesterday, the woman there gave me a form to fill. She was silently gazing at the form as I filled it, until I got to the 'date of birth.' When I filled my accurate date of birth,' she looked amazed and exclaimed, "sir, is that your true date of birth or are using it just for official purposes?" I said "no; that's my actual date of birth." She said, "impossible; you look years older than this your real age. You are my junior, but just take a look at yourself and myself." I refused to be dragged into that discussion, but she persisted, "sir, is your wife or family troubling you?" I said "no." "Are you passing through difficult moments?" She asked, "you look old and burdened..." I said, "yes; I am burdened with the burden of souls; as I speak to you, I am worried about a family that lost their parents; I am troubled because I have to look for funds to pay the fees of so many orphaned children in my school. I have sermons to write and there are souls that I feed daily on Facebook. I have no wife, no child, no house, but I bear the burdens of families and the society. Madam, I am a Catholic priest and I look older because I face things I don't discuss with anyone but my God." She turned and said, "Thank you Father."

See, some might feel that the life of a priest is flowery, sweet and without burdens, afterall, "he is childless and wife-less." Some have concluded that his car entails a life with no scars. Some sadly said that the priest is exempt from the distractions, frustrations and troubles of life because he is not married. Some have desired to become priests because of the aroma of the food emitting from the priest's kitchen. Some have said that the life of priest is stress-free. But I wish to say that the life of a priest is like that beautiful rose that has thorns all around it. Priesthood is beautiful, but it comes with it's thorns and burdens which so many persons don't see. Pray for your priest and don't prey on him with your tongue. See, the priest also cries; he faces temptations and trials; he has his pains, sorrows, groanings and weaknesses that he doesn't discuss. And as the shepherd, the searchlight of the evil ones are constantly focused on him. See, when a priest closes his door, all that is left for him is himself and his God; so if he is not anchored on God, his boat of life will begin to sink as chronic loneliness and temptations take their tolls on him. Pray for him and don't forget to tell him, "thank you Fr."

She said "thank you Fr." because she understood that the age of any Catholic priest you encounter is not an immunity to the burdens, trials, temptations, stress, hurdles and crosses he must carry. Your priest is wife-less, childless, but not purposeless and that is why he sometimes look older than his age. To be a Catholic priest is not a child's play. To detest life's greatest pleasures in order to take up the higher pleasures of serving God as his 'priest' is not by any one's power, but God's grace. Nobody is perfect, and that priest called to the order of Melchizedek is not excluded from that imperfection. Today, tell a Catholic priest, "thank you Fr."

Dedicate this holy week to God
10/04/2022

Dedicate this holy week to God

Please share
01/04/2022

Please share

Address

3222 Mahlalela Street
Emalahleni
1039

Telephone

+27136961270

Website

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