Getting Ready for the Move

October 5, 2010

Peace and Good,

I hope that all is well with you. I was in Sacred Heart Parish in Kingston, Ontario this past week giving a parish mission. Kingston is an archdiocese but is not all that big. It is a very old diocese (either the oldest or second oldest English speaking diocese in Canada). The friars are stationed there.

The theme was the Gospel of Matthew. I based the evening talks (Sunday through Thursday) on that Gospel. Then, in the morning, we had sessions on the other Gospels.

One of the themes from the Gospel of Matthew is how St. Peter receives the keys of the kingdom. This is a theme which leads us to a consideration of the papacy. Last week, CNN was running an expose on what Pope Benedict knew about the abuse scandal. After the main talk, I invited those who wished to remain and discuss the abuse situation. I didn't want to impose that discussion on everyone, but I wanted to give everyone who wised an opportunity to talk about it. I think the discussion went very well. We didn't solve anything, but we were able to talk in a loving and pastoral way. Even though there was a lot of emotion expressed, there was a deep feeling that the Spirit was guiding our discussion.

On Friday I drove back to the States, stopping in two friaries on the way home. I stopped in the friary at Assumption Basilica in Syracuse for coffee with the friars. The friars there run an incredible apostolate (or rather multiple apostolates gathered in the one site). They are truly serving the poor in so many wonderful ways.

I then stopped for supper and an overnight at Mother Cabrini Parish in Shamokin, PA. This is a combined parish, and again, the friars have done a wonderful job of serving the people by binding the disparate groups into one parish family.

I am now in the process of packing and getting ready to go to Rome. I will be going over there on October 26th for a first visit (10 days). I will be back on November 8th. Then, in early December, I will be going over there for good.

I finished a number of works this week. The first is Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac, a 19th century French author. It is about a country bumbkin who visits Paris for some business and runs into his cousin who introduces him to the corruption of the big city. It is a novella and quite good.

The second was Act of Treason by Vince Flynn. This was about a vice presidential candidate who had his wife killed in a supposed terrorist attack in order to win the election and get rid of her. This is a CIA, action packed story. It is not all that good, but rather OK.

A third is Deep Sleep by Greg Iles. A war photographer searches for the murderer of her twin sister in New Orleans. Her sister was the subject of a mass murderer painter who kills young women and then paints them. Some of the story is quite implausible, but overall it is a good read.

The fourth is Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. This is a long series of vignettes on people living in Los Angeles. They go from a Hispanic young woman who worries about her looks to a gay male movie star who almost ruins his career by his heedless life style to a wino living on the beach to a young run away couple trying to survive. Like LA, the pace is fast, jumping from one topic to the next. It is really quite good.

Take care and
Shalom
fr. Jude