Buffalo - Rome

March 30, 2019 Peace and Good, I am back in Rome after having travelled to Buffalo for the funeral of one of our friars, fr. Canice Connors. The trip back was long, especially since I had to travel from Buffalo to Baltimore where I had an eight hour layover, and then to London where there was another five hour layover. All went well, but a trip like that takes a lot of wear and care on the body. It was good to be in Buffalo for a few days and to be able to see relatives. I don't get to see them often because I am always on the road in other parts of the world. I have been working on a translation from Italian to English for some documents for our General Chapter. I finished the work this morning, so tomorrow I will dedicate to doing some daily reflections for the podcast site. Monday I and the other definitors are heading out to Croatia for a couple of weeks: for our annual retreat and a meeting of our definitory. The weather has warmed up nicely. I was able to walk outside today without a sweater. Spring is here. I finished some reading: The Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War by Charles River Editors This is a double book which deals first with the six day war when the Israelis defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria, and then the war which occurred a decade later in which Israel again won when Egypt invaded it, but just barely. Even though the treatment is not all that long, it nevertheless gives good information about the politics, the actual fighting and the consequences of choices made by the various countries and their leaders. Munich, 1938 by David Faber This has to be one of the books that has most disgusted me in recent years. It is not the book itself that bothered me, but rather the story it tells. It gives the account of how Chamberlain, the British prime minister, caved in to Hitler’s demands to allow the Anschluss uniting Germany with Austria and also the invasion of Czechoslovakia, taking the Sudetenland. The British wanted to maintain peace, and treated the Czechs with incredible disdain while they claimed to be honest brokers in the process. One can clearly see the dangers of appeasement which inevitably led to the Second World War. 1920: The Year that made the Decade Roar by Eric Burns Over these past few years, I have read a series of books that speak about a particular year. All of them are interesting, but this particular book is one of the best. It speaks about all sorts of dimensions of what was going on in America right after World War I. It speaks of the corruption of the Harding administration. It presents information on the women’s right movement, especially to get the vote. It also speaks about the prohibition which began that year. Burns presents tons of information in a very pleasant way. The Fall of Constantinople by Captivating History This is a short history of the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul). It also deals with its decline after its sacking by the crusaders of the 4th crusade in which the crusaders attacked fellow Christians and not the Muslims who they had vowed to conquer. In the latter years, the city was a small enclave without any hinterland from which it could draw forces. It was finally conquered when the Islamic forces brought many cannons with them which could breach the considerable walls of its fortress. Six Armies in Normandy by John Keegan This is a history of the invasion of Normandy from the inception of its planning up to the conquest of Paris. John Keegan is a famous military historian, and again this book is an example of his skill. He grew up in one of the staging areas for the invasion, and the first chapter is filled with remembrances of the interaction of his family with the soldiers about to go into battle. The six armies include the Brits, the Americans, the Canadians, the Poles, the Germans and the French. The book is filled with interesting detail. The author is British, and at times he tries to defend Montgomery a bit too much, but overall he is fair in his treatment of the topic. The Lord by Romano Guardini This is a book that I have long wanted to read for I have seen its author’s name time and time again. The opportunity finally came and I am glad I delved into it. It is a long treatment of the person of Jesus and his mission. The use of Sacred Scripture is extensive but not always critical. It served as good spiritual reading, but not really as a source I would quote for a study paper. Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury This is the story of King George VI and his three brothers, one of whom was King Edward VIII who resigned to marry the woman he loved. This book treats George VI rather well, speaking of how a shy and stuttering (he was the subject of the film the King’s Speech) man and who stepped up to his responsibilities. Edward, on the other hand, comes across as vain and petty, controlled by his wife. This story spans from just before World War II through to the 1950’s. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude