I have deliberated as to whether this article should be written, principally, as the person whom it concerns may not want the attention it might bring or if he didn’t mind, would go about dissecting it coming to more lofty conclusions than I ever intended.

I also didn’t want this to be a report on a happening, a happening that would require a skilled littérateur to really relate this event.  This was something that wrenched at our very souls.

There was standing room only, astonishingly as this was a public holiday! Parishioners, family, friends, even acquaintances came to say “au revoir” to Fr/Dr Henry James Adrian Charles - priest, teacher, attorney-at-law.

It was a beautiful morning. An array of altar servers, followed by Frs Herbert Charles, Clyde Harvey, Hugh Joyeau, Emmanuel Pierre and Martin Sirju majestically preceded the six-foot four-inch august figure of Fr Henry we had grown so accustomed to over the last three years, making his last trip down the aisle of St Patrick’s Church as parish priest on this Emancipation morning - feast of St Alphonsus Liguori.

The lusty singing of the combined parish choirs, the incensing of the altar and Fr Henry’s welcome set the tone for a celebration of the Eucharist, a community meal among friends.

Fr Sirju had the distinct honour of being homilist, drawing reference to the fact that St Alphonsus was also an attorney and a prolific and popular author, qualities Fr Henry also emulates.

Margaret Gomes, Chairman of the Parish Council, in extending thanks for the dedicated work Fr Henry had rendered to St Patrick’s stated: “We all will agree that he has influenced the spiritual fervour of all our parishioners, principally through his homilies which allowed you to go home and ponder and relate to.

Some allowed you to do some real soul-searching and it made the Gospel message not only an intellectual and exceptional analysis of the Word but a gentle guide to let us know that even in our moments of discouragement there was an ADDED VALUE message which was relevant, empowering, motivational and inspirational”.

Fr Henry has been taken away from us much too soon. It brings to focus that there’s no way of knowing that you’ve missed out on the best until you have had the best.

It is hard to let go and as the tears flowed unabashed/unabated Ruby Gonsalves, Richard Roberts and our youngest altar server, Alexis Marie Tang Ming laid hands on a kneeling Fr Henry as the parishioners’ blessing on him was proclaimed.

There is much to remember by all the ministries of the parish, the altar servers particularly will remember the love, respect and understanding they shared.

Fr Henry Charles (seated second from left) with St Patrick's Traditional choir

Fr Charles with altar servers and young parishioners

The choirs will remember the rich quality of his singing and that he never ran away from the altar at the recessional, but would stay an appropriate length of time, which meant that he was there well into the third or fourth stanzas of a hymn.

We all will remember his request on his 34th anniversary of priestly ordination in 2005 to pray for him that he would be a better person. 

His thanks to all of us for the support we gave and in particular his appreciation to Bro Gregor Florence who was, for want of a better expression, his factotum.

We will remember as each liturgical season comes around a key observation from one of his homilies – the difference between Lazarus’ resuscitation (to his old life) and Jesus’ resurrection (to another life); Jesus’ response to Mary Magdalene – do not cling to me (if he is to become accessible to her); Why was Jesus born?  Because God so loved the world and to tell us that God is on the side of goodness and justice and in the end they prevail.

We all have our star. We are all meant to take a distinctive path in life to be happy. Advent is the longing for a world completely transformed which is the reason why John the Baptist appears right at the beginning; and Lent THEN – when an entire society participated in Lent - and NOW – with its greater sense of options – both having the constant of discipline.

Not to diminish in the least that each funeral we attend is a dress rehearsal of our own. Letting resentments go so that our hearts may be opened; or the everyday virtues that when we pray the Our Father we ask God to forgive us in the measure that we forgive others and, perhaps, the most enlightening, instructive reflections on the Eucharist as Meal, an all-inclusive sacramental meal – present and real – a commitment to becoming what we eat – a memorialising of the life and death of the Lord. 

He was the servant leader in every sense and in case you are wondering, a servant leader serves first and those they lead grow, become healthier, more adult and live life with greater freedom.  The evidence spoke for itself. The St Patrick’s community emerged with greater vitality, involvement and creativity.

We’ll remember his appreciation of food, his culinary skills and his love of music, baseball and cricket. His fish was a “hot” item on the lunch menu that followed Mass.

We’ll remember the smile that starts and quickly becomes hidden when he doesn’t want you to know that he’s happy to see you, lest the question of impropriety should arise, or the way he laughs at his own jokes before giving you the punch line!

Fr Henry has proceeded on vacation moving into a year’s sabbatical, and we all hope that he returns to this Archdiocese, since it is not inconceivable that any reputable university would willingly take him or even the Vatican.

As we savoured the lunch, the company, empathising with each other on how much we will miss “our boy”, even the heavens began to cry with us.

In retrospect we really didn’t say “goodbye” or even “au revoir”, you just couldn’t, there was too much water under the bridge, so to speak.  Not even “see you later” could cut it.

We marvelled at how we had all changed, he included. Fr Henry came to St Patrick’s more a teacher than a pastor; he left us more a pastor and a better teacher.

A parishioner in giving him a message on behalf of others who were too shy said:  “Father, they ask me to tell you that we will miss you and that we love you”. Fr Henry replied: “Tell them thank you and I love them back too”.

The following is an excerpt from one of Fr Henry’s homilies. I believe it puts everything into perspective for all of us:

“We are often faced with situations like these -- where we are asked to show courage in ‘going elsewhere’, that is, stepping out from the round where we do good work and are appreciated for doing so. It is in listening, to get in our private place, that we discover what is right for us. It is also in that private place that we get the courage to do what it is we are called to do.”

Nothing remains to be said…the silence is loud enough.