Jubilee Day and The Day of Thanksgiving – December 1st and 2nd

On Saturday the 1st of December we all gathered at St. John’s to honor our pioneering Brothers who devoted so selflessly many years of loving service to the people of Ghana, especially at St. John’s School.
It was a very hot day from the start when we gathered down on the playing fields to watch the honor guards from St. John’s and St. Augustine’s College. I don’t know how they survived marching around that field in their thick uniforms under that sun. I was sweating like mad just watching them.
It was another very long ceremony, probably about 3 and a half hours or so. The best part of the whole ceremony was hearing from the “old boys” of St. John’s School. These were the men who were taught by our American brothers who came all those years ago. It was just like hearing speeches from Notre Dame alumni…their funny anecdotes just dripping with nostalgia. But in every man that spoke you could sense the deep gratitude in their voice. Many of these men came to St. John’s knowing very little english had a lot of trouble understanding the white Brothers; but because of their efforts these young men were able to become some of Ghana’s greatest citizens. They are great business men, they have positions in government, they are community leaders, they are advisers to the President of Ghana, but most of all they are honest men.
Whenever Br William Gates was acknowledged I heard all the “old boys” behind me exchanging words…pss pss pss OLD WILLY! Pss pss pss. It was quite obvious to me that Br. William who has stayed all these years, longer than any other, has made an incredible impression upon these men…and he continues to every day.
The ceremony helped me to realize that St. John’s School is truly one of the greatest in the whole country. It has produced so many successful men over the years. We must remember that this great institution was the first home of Holy Cross in Ghana and the positive results of our Brothers’ presence can still be seen today.
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The final day of the Jubilee Celebrations was on the second day of December. It was 50 years ago this day that the first brothers stepped off of their ship and onto Ghanaian soil. Today we would celebrate fifty-years of tireless effort, fifty-years of selflessness, fifty years of educating the hearts and minds of young Ghanaians. Also, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Br. Joseph Tsiquaye Religious Profession and the final profession of six Holy Cross Brothers, all of who’s names should be very familiar to you HCC students who have been here. The Brothers are: Ebeneezer Prah, Paul Bukaryi, Nicholas, Kenneth Goode, Patrick Osei-Bonsu, and John Affum-Badu.
We held the ceremony at Our Lady of the Star Cathedral in Takoradi. The place was completely full with about 1,000 people in attendance. Everyone there was dressed beautifully in a mixed array of traditional dress and western suits. There were more brothers, sisters, and priests there than I have ever seen with my own eyes. There was a wonderful feeling of love and appreciation for Holy Cross in the Cathedral that poured out of everyone through embraces, smiles, and song.
I was so excited to be able to be present at such a momentous occasion for the Congregation of Holy Cross, such a momentous occasion in the lives of these young Brothers whom have become so dear to my heart. I know there are so many students who have only spent a couple weeks with some of these Brothers and the impressions will remain for a lifetime. To be able to represent those students at this celebration of six young men turning their lives over to God was a great honor.

It almost brought me to tears to watch these Brothers whom I have spent so much time with make such an incredible commitment to God. It was wonderful! Right after they made their final profession they allowed people to go up and congratulate them. They tried to keep people from going up, but the congratulations lasted for about 15 minutes. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting Holy Cross.
What really stuck in my head from Fr. Hugh’s homily was something simple, love. He talked so much about commitment, work, tirelessness, humility, and faith. What stuck with me was that at the foundation of all of that is love. In order to commit your life to the service of others then you must do everything out of love. In order to find joy in working tirelessly for others then you must do everything out of love. “There is no greater proof of love than for one to lay down his life for his friends.” What we need to realize is that all the people on Earth are our friends.
We might not all end up as religious men and women, but trying to use every moment of our lives to help our “friends” is something we can all strive for. I think it was this that really renewed my strength…every moment that I have here in Ghana or anywhere else in the world I have the opportunity to do something incredible, something that changes the world, something that transforms the world….I can show someone love. And it seems real nice and romantic, but as I have learned in the past months that loving others isn’t easy, making an act of solidarity, isn’t easy! But the goal is that when it all goes down I can say, “Well, I don’t know what I accomplished. I don’t know if I really made a difference for anyone, but I did give all of myself. Oh God, I really tried.”Fr. Hugh definitely had the rights words to help begin another 50 years for Holy Cross in Ghana.