Atlanta - London - Canterbury - Hantly - Dundee - London - Rome

October 29, 2011

Peace and Good,

After the episcopal ordination of my confrere fr. Gregory Hartmeyer, I travelled back to Atlanta to fly back the next evening to London.

Our friary is right near Waterloo train station, so it is very easy to get there from the airport. Simply an express train to Paddington and then the underground to Waterloo. I have been there a number of times, so I have a favorite Chinese restaurant and a favorite half price book store.

The next day I took the train out to Canterbury where I gave a two day workshop/weekend of recollection to our friars in formation and a group of Montrebre Sisters also in formation. The theme was the books of Wisdom: Wisdom, Sirach, Psalms, Proverbs, Quoheleth, Job and the Song of Songs. We have three men in simple vows, two in novitiate there (and another two in the States) and one candidate.

Sunday I took the train back to London and took a flight up to Aberdeen the next morning. A friar picked me up and drove me up to the home of Bishop John Jukes. Bishop John is the retired regional bishop of Kent in the diocese of Southwark. He is a wise gentleman, and I had a number of good talks with him. Scotland is so far north that the days are already very short. I can't think of what it is like in the winter with only a few hours of sun.

On Wednesday I took the train down to Dundee. I was supposed to baptize someone there, but it didn't work out. Nevertheless, I got to visit some friends. Then I took the flight down to London from Edinburgh the next day, and then back to Rome yesterday.

There were a lot of moves in these two weeks, and I got to visit a good number of people.

I finished a few books. There is the Empire of Liberty: A history of the early Republic by Gordan Wood. It is part of an Oxford Unmiversity Press series on American History. The book was well written and a must for those who enjoy reading American History.

I finished Wolf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest by GA Henty. Henty wrote a whole series of books for young Englishmen around the turn of the century. This one deals with the Norman conquest from the point of view of a young Englishman. With his books, you never have to wonder who is the hero and who is the villian. But the books are a good read.

I also finished Gobseck the Usurer by Honore de Balzac. It is the story of a money lender in Paris during the 18th century who hoards his riches so much that much of it is ruined by the time he dies.

I hope you have a good week. I will be in Rome for our monthly meeting, then it is off to Manila.

Shalom
fr. Jude