Ellicott City

March 13, 2020 Peace and Good, I have been in Ellicott City for these past few weeks. At one of my recent cardiologist appointments, they discovered that I was in atrial fibrillation and my cardiologist has been working with various medicines to try to get the heart beat back in synch. So far, it has not worked, but we continue to work on it. In the meantime, I feel great. I am still doing my 40 minute vigorous walk each day without any difficulty. Obviously, I am trying to be very careful about exposure to the coronavirus because what I have would be considered to be a pre-existent condition. I am glad that this was all found while I was near my regular doctors (as opposed to somewhere in Asia or Africa). I am working on a couple of projects. One of the nice things I am doing is a series of short podcasts for the Companions' website. I have been doing 6 a day for the past couple of weeks, so we have built up a very nice library of topics. I am also working on the translation of a book from Italian to English on spiritual direction for priests. I have finished some reading: The Taj Mahal by Charles River Editors This is a quick historical overview of the great Indian monument to the love of a Mughal leader toward his wife. It was also a massive edifice to demonstrate the power of that empire, placed at a key point along a river so that all the merchants passing by would be reminded of who was in charge. It is a mixture of Hindu, Persian and other Islamic influences. The book gives a good rendering of why the building is so impressive. Discovering Genesis by Iain Provan This is an interesting overview of the book of Genesis by a Protestant author. Even though the background of the author is not what I normally read, I found the book enlightening with some insights which I had never considered. I had obtained this book when it was on sale by Kindle, and I will keep my looking for other volumes in the series to notice when they are on sale. The Swamp Fox by John Oller and Joe Barrett This is a biography of Francis Marion, the militia leader who led troops against the British during the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. He has become a mythic figure, and this biography is largely a paean to his greatness. The book is well written, not quite objective (but making no pretenses that it is). Stalin by Ian Grey This is a biography of this unusual and frankly frightening figure. Some of the chapters in the book are quite honest and forthright on the pluses and minuses of Stalin, while others are sadly simply a mouthing of communist propaganda on certain topics (such of the arrest of resistance figures by the NKVD when Poland was being conquered, the reason why Stalin installed communist governments in Eastern Europe and his techniques, etc.). 36 Books that changed the World by The Teaching Company This is a series of lectures by multiple professors on what are considered to be some of the most important books published throughout the centuries. It is a mixed bag of presentations. Some fit better into the format of an overview of a book, while others present only one aspect of that work (since they are taken out of context from a much longer presentation). Nevertheless, as always with the Teaching Company courses, it provides a lot of useful information. Discernment by Henri Nouwen This is a series of lectures by Nouwen and edited by his followers concerning discerning the will of God in our lives. As with his other books, it centers upon the idea that God loves us and wants what is best for us. This is part of a series of books on Nouwen’s thought that are relatively short, but very meaningful. I am praying for your health and that of your family. Shalom fr. Jude