From the fridge to the fire

January 17, 2010

Peace and Good,

Well, the retreat in Little Falls Minnesota with the Franciscan Sisters went well. There were over 50 of them (both sisters and some of their associates). The theme of the retreat was the Gospel of Luke, which provides ample material for a retreat or a parish mission.

I was impressed with the spirit of the sisters. There is a real sense of Franciscan hospitality in their mother house.

During the retreat I saw the terrible news about Haiti. That country is so poor and poorly run on a good day, and now this devastation. I was impressed with the coverage on CNN. Long before the other networks even reported it, Wolf Blitzer was covering it full time. He must have realized what a true disaster it would be.

At the end of the retreat I was asked to celebrate the funeral mass of one of the sisters, Sr. Seraphine. From what the sisters said, she had a great sense of humor and was a bit of a trickster. She was in her early 90's when she passed away.

I travelled home on Thursday night and flew out again on Friday morning, this time to St. Joan of Arc Parish in Spring Hill, Florida. The people here were complaining about how it got down to 19 last week, and I spoke to them of the fact that it got down to -19 in Little Falls (although, ironically, it was probably more difficult here than there because in Minnesota they build houses to withstand the cold but down here there is so little insulation). The theme this week, as well, will be the Gospel of Luke.

I finished a paperback that I picked up at the airport a while ago: Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods. It was a murder mystery, but not all that good. The characters weren't really developed nor was there that sense of mystery and surprise that I like in a book.

I also finished another book on my kindle: Dante and His Times by Arthur John Butler. This was one of the free books. I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it. It was OK at best. Yet, every time I read one of these books, I learn just a little bit more about the topic, so I guess it was not a waste of time.

My future schedule is as follows:

01/16/10 - 01/20/10: St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Spring, Hill, FL - Parish Mission

01/23/10 - 01/28/10: St. Gregory Catholic Church, Plantation, FL - Parish Mission

01/30/10 - 02/04/10: St. Gregory, the Great Catholic Church, San Diego, CA - Parish Mission

02/06/10 - 02/11/10: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Lakeside, CA - Parish Mission

02/13/10 - 02/18/10: Holy Trinity Catholic Church, El Cajon, CA - Parish Mission

02/20/10 - 02/25/10: St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Leonardtown, MD - Parish Mission

02/27/10 - 03/04/10: St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Oceanside, CA - Parish Mission

God bless and
Shalom

fr. Jude