It was warm for a minute

May 26, 2010

Peace and Good,

I am still in Canterbury. This week I completed one of my courses on the Resurrection Narratives (the stories of the resurrection of Jesus in the four Gospels and 1 Cor 15). I am still teaching the other three plus a once weekly adult ed session.

The weather actually turned quite warm for two days this past week, but as I am sure you can guess from the title of this entry, it is cold again.

A group of people asked me to do a day of reecollection on the Holy Spirit as a preparation for the feast of the Pentecost. There were 28 participants, and I think it went quite well. I spoke especially of how difficult it is to get an accurate picture of the Holy Spirit, but that is OK, because the Spirit is so much more than we can picture or define. I also spoke of discerning what the Spirit wants of us, and also of the gifts of the Spirit and how we are to use them.


Please keep our friars in Kingston, Jamaica in your prayers. Things are always very violent there, and it seems as if the country is finally trying to address (which in the short run means extreme violence). The friars are outside of the city, but there is always a certain amount of danger in situations like this.

We have fixed the glitches with the daily reflections and I hope it will smooth sailing from no on. The next part of the project that I am going to address is to work on getting more spiritual reading reviews. The purpose is to give the friars a chance to give their recommendations on spiritual reading to whomever might read this site.

I finished two works this week. The first is called the Last Empress by Anchee Min. It is about the last empress dowager in the Chinese empire. It takes the story from her point of view. From the western point of view, she is always seen as a dragon lady. Yet, from the inside you see the tensions with which she was contending (family, national, international). It is easy reading and quite a good book to get an insight into that era of Chinese history (from 1860 - 1905).

The second work is a series of courses from the teaching company on the Greek and Persian Wars by John Hale. This covered the period from around 500 B.C. until the death of Alexander the Great. For history buffs, this was pure gold. The teacher has an excelent, exciting presentation style. I was quite impressed.

My schedule is as follows:

until June 11: Canterbury, England - teaching

June 13 - 18, 2010: Provinicial Chapter, Buffalo, NY

June 19 - 30, 2010: St. Victor's Major Seminary, Tamale, Ghana - seminarian retreat

July 4 - 10, 2010: St. Francis Convent, Mishawaka, IN - Retreat for Sisters

July 11 - 18, 2010: Quellen Spiritual Center, Mendham, NJ - Retreat for Sisters

July 19 - 23, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novice Retreat

July 24 - 31, 2010: Chatauqua Community, Chatauqua, NY - Priest in Residence

August 5 - 15, 2010: Our Lady of Consolation Shrine, Carey, OH - Parish Novena

August 16 - 20, 2010: Maronite Seminary, Washington, D.C. - Seminarian Retreat

August 21 - 27, 2010: Ocean City, MD - vacation

August 28 - September 3, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novitiate Conferences

Shalom,

fr. Jude

Still in Canterbury

May 19, 2010

Peace and Good,

I am still in Canterbury. I am teaching four courses here, one of which I will finish next week. The other courses will run until I return to the States for the second session of our Provincial Chapter on June 11th.

The weather is slowly improving. It has gotten to 20 centigrade (I think that is around 70 farenheit). The countryside is magnificent. Everything is so green. Now, the cost for that is frequent rain, but there is always a price to pay.

I have added a few adult ed classes on scripture study for those who wish to attend. The first class last night was on the book of revelation. It was a two hour class, and we had about 25 attend. I was very pleased.

I have to apologize. We have had a technical glitch in our podcasts of scripture reflections. I hope that it will be fixed today.

Great Britian has a coalition government. It actually seems quite peaceful here. I am sure it is only a honeymoon, but it is good to hear it after weeks of election polemics.

I have finished two books this week. The first was a history of Julius Caesar by Jacob Abbott. He is an author from the turn of the century (C. 1900) who wrote a series of reflections on historic figures. It is not the most insightful book, but it gives the basic details. I always find that whenever I read history, I pick up something for by understanding of Scripture.

The second was a biography of Erasmus by Johan Huizinga. First of all, I was thrilled to read something by this author. I had read a book of his, The waning of the Middle Ages, when I was in the seminary in a course taught by Fr. Roger Haas. That was the first course that I realized how much our views of history can be influenced by the point of view of the author. Furthermore, Erasmus was a central figure in the development of the Renaissance. He studied and published critical editions of many Greek and Latin manuscripts, including a critical edition of the Greek New Testament. Many of his ideas were considered to be controversial, and some consider his a forerunner of the Protestant reformation (although he remained a Catholic until the day he died). The book was well done. Especially appreciated were a series of his letters which were included with the text, including a long description of St. Thomas More. The irony behind this book is that I picked it up at a store called Ollies, which is like Big Lots. Who else but I would have bought a book like this at Ollies?

This is my coming schedule:

until June 11: Canterbury, England - teaching

June 13 - 18, 2010: Provinicial Chapter, Buffalo, NY

June 19 - 30, 2010: St. Victor's Major Seminary, Tamale, Ghana - seminarian retreat

July 4 - 10, 2010: St. Francis Convent, Mishawaka, IN - Retreat for Sisters

July 11 - 18, 2010: Quellen Spiritual Center, Mendham, NJ - Retreat for Sisters

July 19 - 23, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novice Retreat

July 24 - 31, 2010: Chatauqua Community, Chatauqua, NY - Priest in Residence

August 5 - 15, 2010: Our Lady of Consolation Shrine, Carey, OH - Parish Novena

August 16 - 20, 2010: Maronite Seminary, Washington, D.C. - Seminarian Retreat

August 21 - 27, 2010: Ocean City, MD - vacation

August 28 - September 3, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novitiate Conferences

Shalom

fr. Jude

Not Merry Old England - Cold, cold England

May 12, 2010

Peace and Good,

I am still in Canterbury teaching my courses. I have students from great Britain, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cameroon,and Nigeria. It is always a challenge/blessing to teach such a diverse group. It makes you take stock of what is universal belief and what is culturally determined. So much of what we think is right and wrong is simply the way that we are used to doing it.

I will be giving a few adult ed classes as well over these coming weeks. People are so hungry for scripture that wherever I go, they ask for additional instruction.

One sister asked me to look over a short book that she has written. Again, it is privilege to help someone who is just starting out to write. I have been so blessed in that apostolate that I feel a strong obligation to help anyone who is starting out.

The weather is cold, cold, cold. We have gotten close to freezing a couple of night this week. It is supposed to warm up a bit at the end of the week.

I met a class mate of mine from Rome (back in the early 80's) who now lives in Canterbury. We did Bible studies together at the Biblicum (which, if you have ever been to Rome, is a few blocks from the Trevi Fountain). It was great to see him again after all these years.

I finished one book: England under the Tudors by Arthur Innes. I have always been fascinated by that era of history: Henry VII, his son Henry VIII, and then three of his children: Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. These were not always the nicest of people, but they reigned in England at a crucial time when England was transformed from a backwater second class power to the ruler of the seas. Henry VIII comes across as talented, crafty, cruel, even paranoid and autocratic. Elizabeth is seen as great, and yet indecisive and devious.

My schedule for the next months is:

until June 11: Canterbury, England - teaching

June 13 - 18, 2010: Provinicial Chapter, Buffalo, NY

June 19 - 30, 2010: St. Victor's Major Seminary, Tamale, Ghana - seminarian retreat

July 4 - 10, 2010: St. Francis Convent, Mishawaka, IN - Retreat for Sisters

July 11 - 18, 2010: Quellen Spiritual Center, Mendham, NJ - Retreat for Sisters

July 19 - 23, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novice Retreat

July 24 - 31, 2010: Chatauqua Community, Chatauqua, NY - Priest in Residence

August 5 - 15, 2010: Our Lady of Consolation Shrine, Carey, OH - Parish Novena

August 16 - 20, 2010: Maronite Seminary, Washington, D.C. - Seminarian Retreat

August 21 - 27, 2010: Ocean City, MD - vacation

August 28 - September 3, 2010: St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Mishawaka, IN - Novitiate Conferences

Take care and Shalom

fr. Jude

Merry Old England

May 5, 2010

Peace and Good,

I finally made it to Canterbury. Our Franciscan Institute is situated about a 20 minute walk outside of the old city walls. Canterbury is a beautiful tourist town. I went down there last Friday and it was packed with students from France and Germany on their Spring break. It almost has the spirit of Assisi in terms of taking one back to earlier times.

I was originally to teach two courses this term. (They divide the school year into three ten week terms, this term being called Trinity Term because Trinity Sunday falls in it.) The courses were an introduction to the New Testament and the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and Acts. Just before arriving, I got some bad news. One of the OFM friars, Shamus, had a mile heart attack and I was asked if I could cover another two courses: Introduction to the Old Testament (Mostly for adult ed learners) and a seminar on the Resurrection Narratives (the stories of what happened when Jesus rose from the dead in the Gospels and First Corinthians). I teach Monday to Thursday, which gives me a good weekend to work on writing projects and to visit the sites.

Please keep Fr. Shamus in your prayers. His heart attack has turned out to be quite a bit more serious than they first thought.

The weather is just what I remembered it to be when I was here two years ago: cool and cloudy, almost gloomy. It should clear up in a couple of weeks.

The big excitement here is a general election in Great Britain tomorrow. There are three major parties, and it is possible that none of them will win an outright majority, which would mean a coalition government.

I finished one book: the second volume of the Memoirs of General W.T. Sherman. This volume went from his conquest of Atlanta (during the Civil War), he burning of a fifty to hundred mile swath to the Sea, and then the end of the war and the aftermath. Most of it is good reading, but he gets very defensive about two issues. The first is his march to the sea. He destroyed everything in his sight. His theory was that war is hell, and it would end sooner if people felt the consequences of their choices. Yet, he struggles to build a defense for actions that today we would consider war crimes. The other section in which he becomes defensive is his treatment by the Secretary of War at the end of the war. The Secretary of War released some information to the press that put Sherman in highly unfavorable light. He is very, very touchy about that, and he probably had a right to be.

My future schedule is:

04/17/10 - 06/12/10 - International House of Franciscan Studies, Canterbury, England, U.K.

06/13/10 - 06/18/10 - Hyatt Regency Hotel, Hamburg, NY (Provincial Retreat)

06/19/10 - 07/01/10 - St. Victor's Major Seminary, Tamale, Ghana, West Africa p.o.c. Fr. David Azambawu(Seminarian Retreat)

07/04/10 - 07/10/10 - St. Francis Convent, Mishawaka, IN 46546 p.o.c. Sr. M. Dorothy

07/11/10 - 07/18/10 - Quellen Spiritual Center, Mendham, NJ 07945 p.o.c. Sr. Teresa Marie (Sisters' Retreat)

Keep well and Shalom,

fr. Jude