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On May 5th, my house at St Columbans was robbed and trashed. A number of saleable items were stolen such as my car, laptop, musical instruments, and clothes including a colourful Peruvian poncho. The police did a great job, and the car was discovered undamaged the next day. An extensive forensic examination was made of my house and car, but incriminating fingerprints were not found, indicating that the robber must have worn gloves. No other items have been recovered.
My first feelings were of disbelief. How can this happen in a secure Columban property? Then came a feeling of anger. I felt personally insulted especially as so many religious objects had been stolen including a mass kit. Many other items were gifts that I had received which had a lot of sentimental value. The South American community and other good friends kindly gave me presents of several items but the great majority of what was taken is gone forever.
Then gradually my feelings changed. With friends we have often talked about the need to ''declutter'' by getting rid of material things we have but rarely use. Here is an unplanned chance to do that, I thought. While I certainly miss many of the stolen objects, I decided that I would learn to live without them. After all I have preached about the Beatitude, ''Blessed are the poor in spirit,'' so here is a chance to put it into practice. So, my anger has turned to acceptance, reluctantly at first but now I am looking to see what else I can get rid of in order to simplify my life.
Fr Don Hornsey, lives and works in Aotearoa/New Zealand
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